K-12 Leadership/Administration

ISLLC 1

The school leaders of the twenty-first century must have knowledge and understanding of emerging issues and trends that potentially have an impact on the school community; the conditions and dynamics of the diverse school community; community resources; com- munity relations and market strategies and processes; and successful models of school, family, business, community, government, and higher education partnerships. They should also believe in, value, and be committed to schools operating as an integral part of the larger community, col- laboration and communication with families, involvement of families and other stakeholders in school decision-making processes, the proposition that diversity enriches the school, families as partners in the education of their children, the proposition that families have the best interests of their children in mind, resources of the family and community needing to be brought to bear on the education of students, and an informed public. The Educational Leadership Policy Standards: ISLLC (2014) addressing the topics of communities of engagement, and equity and cultural responsiveness are directly addressed in Part Four.

Interacting with the External School Environment

Save your time - order a paper!

Get your paper written from scratch within the tight deadline. Our service is a reliable solution to all your troubles. Place an order on any task and we will take care of it. You won’t have to worry about the quality and deadlines

Order Paper Now

P A R T F O U R

325

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

The Principal: Creative Leadership for Excellence in Schools, Eighth Edition, by Gerald C. Ubben, Larry W. Hughes, and Cynthia J. Norris. Published by Pearson. Copyright © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

327

15 Marketing the Schools C H A P T E R

The School and the Community

One thing the principal needs to realize is that the school serves a vast public and not all school communities are the same. Even the neighborhoods served by smaller elementary schools are often more complex than might be realized. In other words, not all school audi- ences are the same and the audience itself is composed of individuals and groups whose ori- entations vary, who receive and understand information differently, and whose response patterns vary.

There is no single public. Community members may be members of a variety of publics— parents, union members, church goers, Lions Club members, grandparents, professionals of one sort or another, among others—and they are all taxpayers.

Moreover, the various school communities receive information differently. And often, too, the individuals and groups want different kinds of information and need to receive it in different “packages” if it is to be understood and acted on positively.

Each principal or school public relations director will need to identify the several audiences of school practices. Consider the following list:

■ Parents ■ Nonparents ■ Older citizens ■ Teachers ■ Students ■ Businesses and business leaders ■ The professional community ■ Labor unions ■ Special interest groups (activists of any sort, religious leaders, etc.) ■ The disenchanted, anomic bottom feeders

ISLLC 6

ISLLC 7

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

328 P A R T F O U R / Interacting with the External School Environment

This list (and other individuals and groups could be added—it depends on the community) is more than suggestive of how difficult it may be to develop a practical marketing program.

Moreover, in any community except the most anomic there is both an informal and formal decision-making structure. The degree to which this involves itself in school affairs will vary, but in public and private schools much money is acquired and spent and that, if nothing else, catches eyes. In the instance of public schools, we are speaking of the tax rolls, and the acquisi- tion and disbursement of these monies is also of great interest to those who do not have children in the schools.

This chapter is about marketing the schools. When we write the word marketing, we are not writing about “selling goods.” We are writing about helping people understand the school’s effort and product and what it can do for the community. It is basic that one can only do this effectively if one is marketing a good product.

Our effort will be to provide a basis for analyzing the community and suggest practices that will be effective in communicating the worth of the school. School-issue problem-solving prac- tices in various group settings will be explored.

How Is the Specific School Community Composed?

By “specific school community” we are writing about the composition of those people who reside in the school attendance area. In small towns this will mean the population of the town. In cities it will mean defined attendance areas. If the school district is an open enrollment district, the “school community” will be complex indeed. Similarly, if the district has a magnet program the “school community” will also have an increasingly complex nature.

A principal will be well advised to first do a drive through of the attendance area and an examination of the residence areas from which the students come. This is much easier, of course, in single-zone districts. It is, however, necessary even in districts that are multizoned or have magnet or open school arrangements.

Why is it necessary to know where the students reside when not in school? Simply because patterns of respective information exchanges—communication—vary from groups to groups and residence patterns will often reveal the nature of groups sending their children and youth to school. Various ethnic groups, differing income levels, and home languages among other things vary widely in some school systems as do the expectations and communal wisdom of members of various social groups.

Moreover, not everyone who lives within a school attendance area has children in the school. The attitudes, orientations, and concerns of various age groupings, professional and busi- ness associations—Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis, and other clubs of a similar nature—labor organizations, religious groups, and nonparents are important to know.

Different ways of packaging information about the school are essential. Not everyone reads a newspaper. Not everyone gets the news from Internet. Not everyone attends various com- munity meetings or is a member of PTO or PTA or a booster club. And even among those who do these sorts of things, not everyone understands what that school is attempting to do or agrees with it if they do understand. So a communication and marketing system must be varied and have some mechanisms for feedback.

ISSLC 7, 10

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

C H A P T E R 1 5 / Marketing the Schools 329

The Secular Society

For a clearer perspective of the complexity of the issue about communication within a school district, consider the concepts of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft.1 Gemeinschaft refers to a sim- ple culture in smaller communities, whereas Gesellschaft refers to cultures that reflect a diversity of people and beliefs even though the population may reside within the same civil unit.

We live in an urban society. The United States has more than two-thirds of its population liv- ing in what are essentially urban settings. Yet the term urbanization implies more than a population movement; it describes even more, entirely different living patterns, interaction patterns, and com- munication patterns. Societies may be viewed as existing on a continuum of “sacred” to “secular.”2

One could characterize the sacred community as that kind of community in which the “old ways are the best ways”—a society in which one would find ideological unity, well-understood and fixed patterns of behavior, and common expectations of its institutions and those who par- ticipate in those institutions. Thus, a teacher is to “do these sorts of things but not those.” “The role of the parent is . . . ” “Young people are to . . . ” “Couples should not live together unless they are married.” And these kinds of beliefs go on,according to well-understood and accepted norms of behavior. This is a Gemeinschaft culture.

In a secular society, at the other end of the continuum, one does find a ready acceptance of new ways of behaving and an acceptance of the different ways that others behave. Old virtues may be seen as hypocritical or as evidence of blind conformity. Roles are not so clearly spelled out and expectations of those in various roles are varied. This is a Gesellschaft culture. Figures 15.1 and 15.2 depict the major differences between the cultures.

One would describe America’s position on the sacred–secular scale as clearly at the secular end. The problem in our urbanized, secular society is that various groups and individuals will also reflect various points on the sacred–secular scale and hold different perceptions of what the several institutions serving the community ought to look like. The politics of confrontation and conflict within which the schools and other social institutions are caught is simply a manifestation of this.

Readers will find it useful to consider their own community or their school’s attendance area and place it on the sacred–secular continuum. The implications for marketing the school suggest a greater variety of approaches as the secular end of the continuum is approached.

In the sacred society (Gemeinschaft), one finds agreement on mores and manners, little outside influence, and a high degree of social integration. One might find such a society today in

FIGURE 15.1 Factors of a Gemeinschaft Culture

■ Kinship ties between the persons in the community

■ Little division of labor

■ An absence of special interest groups

■ Knowledge about one’s neighbors

■ Self-sufficiency

■ Conformance through informal controls

■ A strong sense of community identity

ISLLC 10

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

330 P A R T F O U R / Interacting with the External School Environment

isolated rural areas. However, often in urban areas one can find something representative of this society in the ghettos or neighborhoods of folks of a particular ethnic or racial group. The Chinatowns, Little Italies, Fourth Wards, etc., are examples of this.

The problem of keeping the publics well informed and generally supportive of the efforts of formal schooling is a continuing one and is most difficult in today’s culturally pluralistic, multiethnic, religiously, and ethically fractured society. Don’t think so? Read the pages of the local paper: front section and second section, op-ed page, and letters to the editor. A seemingly simple—to you—issue is fraught with uncertainty and disagreement elsewhere among others.

When we write the word public as plural, that is what we mean. Any school practice, new or continuing, any reform, any new textbook or reading list, any cheerleader selection process, any hiring or firing of personnel or change of assignment, any location, relocation, or closing of a school is subject to manifold response from the publics, oftentimes rancorous and loud.

How does this make a difference when one is marketing the school? Clearly, if one is deal- ing with a Gemeinschaft community or neighborhood, the process becomes much simpler. Find the few key persons—community leaders—discuss the issues with them, and expect the word to get out through them. Depending on the leaders’ acceptance of the school’s direction, one can expect community support. In the Gesellschaft community, a multi-varied approach is necessary. We live in a Gesellschaft society. Most of the marketing strategies proposed in this book are designed to reflect that diversity.

This chapter is organized into three parts. In the first part we describe some of the major issues that are likely to confront the school leader. Then, in the second part, we consider the complexity of the community and the issues that often produce controversy or, at least, differ- ences of opinion. Strategies and techniques for good public relations are our focus in the third part of the chapter.

Hot-Button Issues

Maintaining a good course of positive interaction between school and the publics is quite possible, not to say necessary. It is not all bad news and potential conflict, although it is important to write about that as well. Most people in most communities are not unhappy about the operation of the school and have a generally positive regard for educators and formal educational policies.

FIGURE 15.2 Factors of a Gesellschaft Culture

■ People largely unified by civil units rather than kinship

■ A great division of labor and specialization of function

■ Proliferation of organizations each with a special membership and purpose

■ Lack of knowledge about one’s fellows in the community

■ Formalized social controls set by laws and enforced by civil agencies

■ High interdependence with other communities even for basic necessities

■ Anonymity to the point where people may be in the unit but not of the unit

ISLLC 7

ISLLC 1

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

C H A P T E R 1 5 / Marketing the Schools 331

From time to time, however, some events happen and some decisions are made that inspire negative reactions from this or that public. Sometimes, the reactions are the result of poor com- munication endeavors by educators; sometimes, they are the result of continuing social prob- lems; and sometimes, they are the result of differences in basic belief systems.

Certain issues predictably will cause controversy and discord in some communities. Recognizing this and developing proper mechanisms to handle the controversy will make for less pain and less disruption. What are these potentially disruptive issues? They are not always dis- tinct from each other and some meld in certain instances and controversies. Let’s look at the more prevalent causes of complaint and discord.

Religious Beliefs

Nothing can be as rancorous or disruptive as charges from this religious group or that citizens’ organization that the school is operating in a manner inconsistent with certain beliefs or contrary to common law and court decisions. The former charges are among the most difficult to handle, and the second are the most time-consuming and painful as legal underpinnings are disputed. Can you have a Bible Club? May you allow the distribution of religious tracts on school property? Is evolution demonstrable fact? And, sometimes one religious group will dispute attention that another is given in public school schools. Christmas celebrations have disappeared from most public schools. Halloween parties are no longer permitted in many schools—Satanism is the fear. Many folks in the community care greatly about these issues. Keep your attorney handy. And, keeping one’s perspective secular seems to be the best policy.

Books and Educational Materials

“Dirty books” is the allegation. Inappropriate placement of educational materials is some of the other charges. “Huckleberry Finn is racist! Harry Potter is satanic! Of Mice and Men has offen- sive language! It’s Perfectly Normal focuses on homosexuality and has sexual content!” Sometimes there will be a protest because of reading assignments a teacher has made or because a certain book is alleged to be inappropriate for the grade level in which it is used, or because certain books are readily available to everyone who comes to the library.

A new group will form or one or two excited parents or community members will complain. A bunch of parents or neighborhood leaders stands outside your office. What do you do? Here are some things to consider: Do you have any policies to guide the selection of educational mate- rials? Has the American Library Association list and policies been examined?3 Is there an appeals committee in the school? Is there an appeals policy? Is it followed?

The most challenged books of 2012 reported by the Office of Intellectual Freedom and published by the American Library Association are listed in Figure 15.3. For many books, age appropriateness was the issue. Religion and sexual explicitness were among other main concerns. These issues may best be addressed by an advisory committee composed of some parents, a librar- ian, an administrator, and a teacher or two who represent an appropriate grade or subject level.

But, it isn’t merely new and popular books that have been subject to banning. The ALA has also identified some time-honored classics that have been subject to community contro- versy and in many instances banned from the bookshelves and reading lists. Figure 15.4 displays these books.

ISLLC 5.6

ISLLC 9, 10

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

332 P A R T F O U R / Interacting with the External School Environment

FIGURE 15.3 Dangerous Reading?

The American Library Association (ALA) sponsors an annual Banned Books Week, which celebrates the freedom to read. In contrast, the books listed below have been pulled, by some citizen’s demand, from some libraries or schools. These books were labeled dangerous; the reason for the label is given after the book title:

1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group

2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group

3. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group

4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit

5. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group

6. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit

7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group

8. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz Reasons: Unsuited for age group, violence

9. The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit

10. Beloved, by Toni Morrison Reasons: Sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence

FIGURE 15.4 Often Challenged Classics

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger

The Grapes of Wrath. John Steinbeck

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

Ulysses, James Joyce

Beloved, Toni Morrison

The Lord of the Flies, William Golding

1984, George Orwell

Lolita, Vladmir Nabokov

Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck

Catch 22, Joseph Heller

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

Animal Farm, George Orwell

The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway

As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner

A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway

Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

C H A P T E R 1 5 / Marketing the Schools 333

Sometimes, classic works and other volumes are restricted—not banned—because of “age appropriateness.” That is a judgment call and a judgment best made by an advisory council. But, most often it has to do with the content and the vocabulary used rather than age appropriateness.

A review of the books listed in Figure 15.4 suggests that people or groups of people in some communities may be less comfortable in our diverse society with what is “appropriate.” “Classic” works, in some instances, deal with “touchy” subjects, in other instances infringe on religious or cultural beliefs, in still others depict social situations that some folks wish to avoid or don’t want young person’s reading or thinking about. Clearly this is the antithesis of what and educational system is all about. A review of the books in the list suggests a great literature course even though some of these works may require a high level of reading and reasoning ability.

School Closings and New Buildings

It is inevitable. Close a school for whatever reason—low enrollment, poor location, excessive costs for repair and remodeling—and there will be an outcry from some part of the school com- munity or neighborhood. The answer, not always satisfactory to everyone but ultimately the only way, is for the school leaders to be certain of their facts and have anticipated the difference of opinions. Alumni of a closing school will nearly always be disturbed. Have they been involved in any way? Nearby neighbors will be bothered. Their children will be inconvenienced and life- styles disturbed. Have good arrangements been made to modify these inconveniences? Is the closing really necessary? Is there no hope for enrollment increasing or renovation? Are small schools unnecessary?

In regard to a new school, location is always a concern. but forming focus groups and exploring various options can bring different insights to the foreground. In one place it was recently discovered that a new building was planned to be built on historic lands; in another city, it was discovered that old Indian burial grounds were going to be disturbed. These sorts of con- cerns are often found out in a timely manner when there are processes in place that provide for local involvement.

Curriculum Strategies and Courses of Instruction

Even persons who have difficulty spelling curriculum care about how the children and youth are being instructed and in what they are being instructed. And, what is being taught and how it is being taught have been, seemingly forever, issues of great debate in this group or that. Sex educa- tion? If and when? Physical education for everyone? How about someone’s objection to this on religious or other grounds? How about a special program for my child who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Shall it be the “whole-language approach” or shall it be “ phonics”? Or both? Or some other approach? Or, what about the Common Core? Is it really an attempt to federalize school curriculum? And on and on. Better to stay familiar with the law and with good educational practice.

Violence in Schools

It is a worried and worrisome society. Incidents of shootings, mass murders, and drug use in school make the headlines of newspapers and become the lead stories on the television news. School leaders have responded with policies of zero tolerance and the expenditure of budgetary

ISLLC 4

ISLLC 7

ISLLC 4

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

334 P A R T F O U R / Interacting with the External School Environment

dollars for their own police forces, security gates, and special schools for transgressors. Is this concern new? Casella wrote:

Concerns about violence have a long history. The first 19th century common schools were devel- oped partly to curb teenage delinquency—to “tame” new immigrants and “savage” American Indians. Later in the 1960’s and 1970’s as greater numbers of students rebelled against injustice and authority, discussions about school violence became more heated, culminating in 1977 in the Safe School Study (National Institute of Education, 1977) mandated by the U.S. Congress.4

The Safe School Study found that violence was an important problem, and that inconsistent dis- cipline contributes to the problem. Yet, little was done for 10 years, and then antidrug programs were established. It was not until the 1990s that other legislation, such as the Crime Control Act of 1990, was passed.

Based on this and later legislation, schools have developed policies such as zero tolerance to address the issues of violence, sometimes with success and sometimes not. School police forces, school protection devices, alternative schools, and zero tolerance are necessary steps, perhaps, to assist in the development of a safe school environment, but each must be used with good judgment. We wrote in Chapter 5 about ways to achieve positive student control, but we also need to return to a concern for good judgment. Zero tolerance means not putting up with unacceptable behavior. It does not mean one-size-fits-all punishment. That kind of policy can be seen as one for administrative convenience, not justice. Punishing everyone the same without regard for maturity is simply an unwise practice.

High-Stakes Testing

High-stakes testing has become an issue that, in some places, is inflaming the teaching profes- sion, the publics, and legislators. The testing movement began as a reform movement to improve instruction and the education of young people. Former president George W. Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB; 2001). The model was similar to the program that was developed when he was governor of Texas. Testing became a mark of the school accountability movement.

Critics, and there are many, see it as an overemphasis on numbers and a restrictive process that impacts teacher creativity. (In some places, the effort to look good has led to cheating by teachers and administrators to improve scores.) Parent and teacher groups have rejected the proc- ess as interfering with instruction as well.

NCLB required that all states create their own testing programs. There have been varied approaches to this. Some states created a list of tests to be given at various grade levels. Third, fifth, and eight are common. In 2011, 48 percent of the nation’s schools fell short of the law’s benchmarks. The Office of Education has, on request from states and schools, granted many waivers. It did not happen that the NCLB 2014 goal of 100 percent success on math and reading scores was met.

Most schools are beset, and administrators and teachers remember vividly the time some years ago when students spent one afternoon taking the California Achievement Test or a similar test in most schools around the nation. Diagnosis was the goal. Now, tests in some states require as much as two days. Even more time than this is spent by teachers preparing their students for

ISLLC 4

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

C H A P T E R 1 5 / Marketing the Schools 335

the tests. Evaluation has now become the goal—evaluation of teachers and administrators and evaluation of schools. And both the profession of education and parents are disturbed by the disruption in schooling and the emphasis on testing.

The question being raised by many parent groups and professional associations, as well as by legislators, is “What good is coming of this?”5 That question remains unanswered.

Helicopter Parents

Frequently, school leaders lament a lack of parent or caregiver interest in what happens at school. There is an opposite extreme to this lament, however, and that is the helicopter parent—the par- ent who cannot let go, who is seemingly forever in the office complaining about things “that have been done to my child.” Small travesties or complex issues, if the particular child is involved, Mom or Dad is at the school calling for correction! Parents such as those are needy, overanxious, and sometimes just plain pesky and schools at every level have to find effective ways to deal with them. They text message their children in middle school, use the cell phone like an umbilical cord, and have little compunction about marching into a second-grade classroom to scream at teacher about a grade.

What can be done about the helicopter parent? Active listening and examination of school practices and policies seem to be the best courses of action. If everything that the school has done is proper, then one simply relaxes and does one’s best to deal with the irate parent. But dealing with the helicopter parent does take time, valuable time; nevertheless, deal you must. Just make sure school policies and procedures are sensible and applied fairly. Some schools, with the leadership of the principal and alert guidance counselors, are developing seminars about how to interact with helicopter parents. Schools in Phoenix have developed a seminar called “Managing Millennial Parents” about how to handle micromanaging parents, who need to handle every detail of their children’s lives to the point that this limits the ability of young people to become independent.

The Complex Community

Multi-ethnicity and cultural pluralism characterize society, and the many groups and individuals that comprise a neighborhood, community, a neighborhood, and a city reflect varying points of view and hold diverse opinions about the several agencies that are established to deliver services to them.6

A high-performing school requires broad-based community support, and support will come from communities that are well informed and well engaged in the educative processes that go on in the school. This does not happen automatically.

Communication between parents and other citizens, businesses, health- and social-care agencies, several levels of government, teachers, administrators, and students is essential and is the glue that binds the learning community. Establishing good communication processes is an essential task of the principal. It is not easy. Communities are diverse, attitudes vary, and formal and informal forces vie for attention and make demands on the school that are often contradictory and at cross-purposes. The territory is complex, and so must be the school–community public relations and marketing program.

ISLLC 4, 7

ISLLC 7

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

336 P A R T F O U R / Interacting with the External School Environment

Schools do not exist apart from the society to be served. They get their support from the “outside” world, and those who make policy and those who permit policy to be made reside in the outside world. Inevitably and inexorably, individuals and groups attempt to establish policies and procedures in the school that are consistent with—indeed generative and supportive of— their values, beliefs, and ideals.

These are days of much individual school-based autonomy and in some places a mandated use of such decisional mechanisms as citizen and teacher advisory councils organized at the school level. The principal’s role as a community relations expert has expanded and pressures have mounted for more effective ways to communicate with the “publics” composing the school community. These pressures are visited on teachers as well.

To perform this role even adequately well requires both knowledge about the makeup of the school community and about how best to communicate with community members. It is increasingly apparent that the strongest support base for the school is grassroots in nature, but there are seemingly infinite varieties of grass to be found in the lawns of many school communities. Moreover, it is not only parents who feel they have a vested interest in schooling practices. Many other community members have a vested interest as well.

Also, one need not be a graduate sociologist to be aware of the impacts that phenomena such as technocracy, urbanization, and the increasing complexity of social relationships have had on the nature of interaction between school and community. The increasing esotericism of pro- fessional educational practices, a concomitant of these changes, has widened the gap between school and community. The dissolution of the small, closely knit communities of years past has made schools and the people in the area unsure of each other. The same situation exists in the medical and legal professions as well as other welfare delivery agencies that attempt to address the varied and complex needs of people who live in a community.

The school is the closest community agency to residents, in both a literal and figurative sense. In geographic proximity, the school is “just around the corner” and often becomes the first line of communication with the area served. It is closer than the mayor’s office; in most cases, it is even closer than the fire station. And, the school greatly affects the community’s most prized possessions—its children and its pocketbook. It should not be surprising, then, that the schools are frequently the subject of perusal and subsequent criticism, and sometimes the result of the perusal is more visceral than cerebral.

Informal Community Forces

Influence and power are distributed unevenly throughout communities. Moreover, informal power must be distinguished from formal power. Formal power is manifest in the elected and appointed governmental offices of the community—the mayor, city council, police chief, superintendent, and board of school trustees, for example. Informal power refers to the ability of an individual or group to get certain things done in the community in a way that is satisfying to the individual or group. It may refer to individuals who are at or near the top of their respective social or occupational hierarchies. It may also refer to groups that are com- posed of, or individuals who represent, members of various special-interest groups, and who, on any given issue, mobilize substantial portions of the population to respond in a particular way.

ISLLC 7

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

C H A P T E R 1 5 / Marketing the Schools 337

The ability to influence depends on the presence of two elements: substantial resources and commitment. Substantial resources do not necessarily mean control of large sums of dollars; it may simply mean the control of large groups of people. People are a resource. Most of the early civil rights successes were characterized by displays of latent power and were conducted without huge sums of money, relatively speaking. Commitment refers to a singular belief in the basic rightness of whatever is being proposed (i.e., the group “hangs together” no matter what), and when coupled with control of some resources, a formidable force is present.

Neighborhood Influence Systems

As communities have become more and more complex, neighborhood influence systems have become increasingly important. Such influence systems often reflect racial, ethnic, religious, or economic homogeneity.

Neighborhood influence systems may be especially important within the principal’s sphere of interaction. We noted earlier that the individual school building remains, in most places, the closest community agency, certainly in terms of geographic proximity. Thus, it is handy, if noth- ing else, to members of the immediate neighborhood who have opinions to express. Moreover, school personnel, and especially the principal, are in an excellent position to feel the pulse of the surrounding area and to interact directly with that group.

Individual schools need to develop effective mechanisms to receive information from, and to dispense information to, neighborhood leadership. Research suggests that an individual com- munity member’s decision to support or not support any particular community issue is more often than not based on the influence of friends and neighbors rather than on the presence of any outside objective data. The school principal must become familiar with the leadership structure of the neighborhood that the individual school may serve.

Leadership structure exists in any community or neighborhood, except the most anomic. This structure may be readily identified, often through reputational means by surveying the store- front churches as well as the well-known churches, the local welfare agencies, the better and less well-known social clubs, and the membership of union locals, among any number of other some- what formal sources. If a community is characterized by heterogeneity in racial, ethnic, or social makeup, more than the usual effort will be required, because well-known organizations may not reflect this heterogeneity. Furthermore, a neighborhood leadership structure may not be com- posed of, or contain very many, people who are also parents of children attending the schools.

Traditional community groups often do not have a membership composed of anything approximating the real nature of the community or the neighborhood served by the schools. In addition, there may exist a leadership structure that has not yet been recognized but that has important things to say about schools. An examination of the membership of local, formal parent–teacher organization and a comparison of certain characteristics of these people with the general demographic characteristics of the student body of the school may reveal that certain groups of people are missing. If different kinds of people are missing, one can be sure that many key neighborhood influentials are not being reached by school messages.

Community Groups

The most intense memberships are held in groups that can be classified as blut und bod. These are groups with kinship and territorial bonds rooted in certain ethnic, racial, or historical ties.

ISLLC 7

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

338 P A R T F O U R / Interacting with the External School Environment

A common language, a common dietary [sic], a common neighborhood, common experience with outsiders, a common history, make people feel more comfortable with one another, more at ease. They understand one another, they read one another; they get one another’s messages. They feel they can count on one another for support. They constitute an in group; everyone else is an out group. The bonds that hold people together also separate them from others; invisible lines are drawn to protect the boundaries between them and outsiders.7

Moreover, people in the community are also often members of an array of different formal and informal groups that may impinge on the schools. They are members of clubs and associa- tions, some blut und bod in nature—for example, self-help groups such as the American Indian Movement, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), or the National Organization of Women. People belong, as well, to unions and professional associations, to political parties, and to neighborhood improvement leagues. All of these organizations demand loyalty from their members and may from time to time oppose certain school system procedures, policies, and practices. Membership in what at times may be adversary groups can be the source of much conflict between community and school.

Pressure Groups

Pressure groups can be distinguished from the usual community decision-making systems because of the relatively short-lived nature of their activities and their tendency to form and re-form around issues or causes. Often, a group will form because of a specific decision made by the school leadership, which is perceived to have an impact on the group’s life space or belief system.

It is clearly the right of citizens to protest when they feel that the school is failing to accom- plish the right thing. Conflict may not be inevitable; in fact, it is frequent in any society. Conflict is not, however, necessarily disruptive or negative. Often, it is out of conflict that greater under- standing results, provided the situation is characterized by openness, a willingness to compro- mise, and well-understood and agreed-upon procedures for resolution.

Pressure groups should not be dismissed lightly. They are a source of great disruption in many communities and sometimes a source of productive change. It is difficult to put the term pressure group in a noninflammatory context. Immediately, thoughts of book burnings, witch hunts, placard-carrying demonstrators, and impassioned pleas from the pulpit or the podium come to mind. One may also imagine school boards and superintendents hastily capitulating to the onslaught of such charges that the schools are “godless,” that the English department is assigning lascivious literature, and that sex education is corrupting youth, among a host of similar kinds of charges, emotion-ridden in context and within which rational behavior often is nearly impossible.

But a pressure group may also consist of parents arguing persuasively for the return of an art program. It may be a collection of citizens raising important issues of equity or insisting on balanced reporting in textbooks about the contributions of minorities. It may be a group raising questions about district employment practices or the lack of bilingual programs, among other issues of equity. Most of the legislation and court orders ensuring or extending rights at local, state, and national levels have occurred because, early on, a small group of concerned citizens organized to call attention to an undesirable situation.

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

C H A P T E R 1 5 / Marketing the Schools 339

Negotiating with Pressure Groups. From time to time, all school administrators will be confronted with requests from organized groups of people who represent a particular point of view about a school-related issue. Frequently, such pressure groups begin their inquiries at the school level in the principal’s office. The issues may run the gamut, from complaints about teach- ers, textbooks, or specific courses of study to alleged institutional racism and demands for more equitable staffing or pupil assignment decisions. Often concerns are legitimate concerns, but legitimate or not, they must always be dealt with sensitively and sensibly. The following guide- lines may help a besieged principal.

1. Identifying. An early identification should be made of the group that is in opposition to, or is likely to be in opposition to, certain school programs. Who are they? More importantly, who are the leaders?

2. Discussing. Can the leaders be talked with? Once the opposing group and the leader(s) of that group have been identified, it is appropriate to engage in a closed-door session to explore the elements of the issue. The principal may gain a more definitive notion of just what is troubling the group. This meeting or series of meetings may result in ways, if the cause is legitimate, for the school to help the group achieve its goals. It may require great insight to find out what the real issue is, because stated “reasons” for opposition to this or that school issue are often at variance with the real causative factors. (At this point, it is also important to apprise the central office of the potential hostile situation and to seek counsel.)

3. Analyzing. After the informal meetings, it is important to reach a decision. Some important points must be considered at this time, including the question of how strong the opposition really is. Do these people have a good chance to “beat” the school in its present position? Most impor- tantly, do they have a solid point on which to differ with the school? At this time a decision must be made about whether the issue will be fought on the basis of the initial positions of both sides or whether some accord is possible.

In all situations, it is important to determine what the real goal is, and what results or gains can be expected from the achievement of that goal. In other words, is the school’s position or is the school administrator’s position tenable? If so, evidence must be present to substantiate why it is tenable. Many school administrators have ended up in great difficulty because of a refusal to negotiate or compromise or because of an unwillingness to give up irrelevant points of contention.

4. Negotiating. Is there room for compromise? The political system under which a democracy operates functions on compromise. Politics is the delicate art of compromise. Desirable changes often can be achieved without compromising principles and without loss of integrity.

Of course, compromising may not be necessary. Perhaps simply sitting down with mem- bers of the pressure group and explaining the school’s position and the facts may dissuade the group from further action. However, administrators who have engaged in community conflict situations over the years are likely to suggest that compromise and negotiation is the more likely process. The pressure group’s motives may be highly complex. Its needs and goals are every bit as important to its membership as are the needs and goals of the particular administrator or school system in question.

In any effort to influence or achieve compromise, timing is important. One really can’t wait until an organized campaign is underway to effect compromises or modify points of view.

ISLLC 7

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

340 P A R T F O U R / Interacting with the External School Environment

The time to influence a pressure group is before the particular group has launched its initial fusillade and before school personnel are totally and publicly committed to a position. Common sense suggests that it is increasingly difficult to change someone or some group when there will be much loss of face, real or imagined, by doing so.

5. Marshaling Resources. Seek help from other community members. Assuming that all efforts to negotiate with the opposition are unsuccessful, what does the administrator try next? The first step is to find out who is on the school’s side, or who it appears ought to be on the school’s side. Some community analysis can be conducted even at this stage and may prove fruitful. Who besides the school really stands to lose? Principals should not forget about other less-organized neighborhood groups of people who, although they seemingly may have a low potential for power, might have a high potential for unity on the particular issue and who could be called on for counsel and help.

Evaluating the Legitimacy of the Critic. Members of the community have the right to legiti- mately question and criticize the schools, although defining the word legitimate in this context is difficult. One of the best benchmarks for judging legitimacy is to observe the behavior exhibited by the particular group. Is the group willing to meet with appropriate educational system person- nel out of the glare of TV lights or without benefit of newspaper rhetoric? Is the group willing to consider other sides of the issue? Is criticism mostly characterized by reason and rationality, or does it seem mostly emotional in nature? Will the critics accept demonstrable facts? If these conditions are not met, then one may question the “legitimacy” of the critic and prepare for battle. Figure 15.5 presents ways of judging the legitimacy of a pressure group.8

Anticipating Obvious Hot-Button Issues. Why should a school leader be surprised when some parents express concern about some school books with themes or language that they con- sider inappropriate10 or about a new school rule that requires a uniform dress code? Why should there be surprise when a school that has a multicultural and/or multiracial population evidences discord and prejudice or charges of “unfair” treatment? Or that there is concern about a poor showing on statewide or districtwide tests?

Such issues have arisen historically and recur frequently. One is left to wonder why anyone would be unprepared for this sort of occurrence. The solution, of course, is to realize that such flashpoints will occur and to develop policies and procedures to handle them fairly.

FIGURE 15.5 Judging the Legitimacy of Groups9

1. Generalization: Does the critic generalize from one or a very few incidents to make all-encompassing statements?

2. Acceptance of Data: Does the critic accept demonstrable fact?

3. Conclusions: Does the critic recognize that a conclusion, which while less certain, is indicated nevertheless by the weight of existing evidence?

4. Honesty: Does the critic distort evidence and facts?

5. Acceptance of the Rules of Logical Inference: Is the critic willing to examine other possible explanations for a condition before making a conclusion?

6. Emotional Distance: Is the critic able to distinguish between evidence and emotion?

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

C H A P T E R 1 5 / Marketing the Schools 341

Providing Well-Developed Policies. If conflict can be expected on educational issues, if ideo- logical unity is not characteristic of many complex communities, and if criticism can be expected as a part of the normal life of the administrator of any public institution, what can be done to modify the divisive effects of such actions and instead capitalize on the rich diversity of views and opinions to improve the schools? Foremost is to provide a broad set of policies, both at the school-district level as well as at the school-building level, that establishes a framework within which diverging views can be heard in a regular and systematic manner. Such a framework pro- vides, in effect, procedural due process whereby dissident factions in a community can formally register their concerns.

Figure 15.6 is a sample form that some districts provide to individuals who are objecting to the use of certain educational material. Such a complaint form could be adapted to other issues and, if used judiciously, provide a vehicle for citizens to make their views known in a rational and systematic way.

Working with Review Boards. Individual principals would be wise to establish some kind of review body on whom the principal could rely for advice, counsel, and the development of criteria for judging potentially controversial instructional materials. Involving an array of appro- priate personnel in the development of policies to anticipate problems establishes a basis for

ISLLC 7, 10

FIGURE 15.6 Citizen’s Request for Reconsideration of Educational Medium

Title of medium

Type of medium: (circle)

Book Film Filmstrip Recording (other)

Author/artist/composer/other

Publisher/producer (if known)

Request initiated by Phone

Address

Complainant represents

Self

(Name of organization)

1. After having read/viewed/listened to the item in question, to what do you object, and why? (Please be specific; cite pages, frame, other)

2. What do you believe is the theme of this item?

3. What do you feel might be the result of students reading/viewing/listening to this item?

4. For what age group would you recommend this item?

5. Other comments

Date Signature of Complainant

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

342 P A R T F O U R / Interacting with the External School Environment

information sharing and good decision making. Principals cannot be expected to know every- thing. The advice and counsel of the school staff, as well as the community, and the development of broadly based policies and policy review boards can provide for effective decision making and intelligent responses to questions that may come from groups or individuals in the community.

Working with Other Community Agencies. Many community agencies and organizations in addition to schools have—or could have—an impact on the quality of children’s lives. The school principal is in an uncommonly good position to coordinate the efforts of these agencies.

It often happens that the principal serves in that role anyway, because the elementary school is usually the closest social agency available to patrons. And patrons look to their schools for all sorts of help that has to do with their families’ well-being. The “closeness” of the school is for many as much a matter of psychological proximity as it is a physical proximity. Many com- munity members look to the school for help in matters neither of the school’s doing nor jurisdic- tion simply because they know of no other place to turn.

The sad fact is that in a complex society the important and varied welfare delivery agen- cies often operate in a most uncoordinated way. Principals frequently find themselves dealing with court orders, child protective services, police departments, city and state health and human services departments, and businesses and industries in an effort to help just one particular child or family. Sometimes these agencies even conflict with each other in their efforts and in their policies.

We are not aware of any administrator training programs that specifically prepare princi- pals for this add-on role in the community. But it is there, and while it may not be a part of the job description, effective principals recognize the importance of developing good contacts with these outside agencies and providing referral and follow-up services to their patrons who may be in need.

Developing close relationships with the police department only makes good sense. Becoming personally connected with directors and counselors of child protective services, among other welfare delivery agencies, will pay rich dividends. Business partnerships such as adopt-a-school can provide enriched educational offerings as well as create an intimate involve- ment of the private sector in community service and form an important support base.

Locally elected legislators often provide a useful connection when school issues are a stake. Knowing who these people are and developing relationships through guest speaker pro- grams and study group memberships may provide much help when political issues and potential legislation have an impact on the school.

Formal Community Forces

The biggest problem facing schools is fragmentation and overload . . . schools are suffering the . . . burden of having a torrent of unwanted, uncoordinated policies and innovations raining down on them from external hierarchical bureaucracies.11

Agencies at all three levels of government exert influence and control over the formal education system, often in direct prescriptive and regulatory ways. Even though locally managed and sub- stantially supported by locally assessed taxes, as established by the law, public school districts are really state institutions; school boards of education members are state officers. In practice, of

ISLLC 4, 7

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

C H A P T E R 1 5 / Marketing the Schools 343

course, the support and control of the public school systems in this nation are vested in federal, state, intermediate, and local governments. A kind of partnership thus exists, although the nature and role of the partners vary among the states.

In the federal system of the U.S. government, education is a function of the separate states. Of course, no state may provide for a school system that violates the constitutional rights of citizens. The U.S. Constitution itself is strangely quiet about education. The state receives its authority to operate and control public education within its boundaries through the enactment of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution.12 Thus, the education system is established under pow- ers reserved to the states, and the manner in which the system is maintained is a plenary responsi- bility of the state. Private, parochial, and charter schools also operate under the aegis of the states.

All of the state constitutions specifically provide for public school systems. The legal basis on which the schools are conducted and maintained may be found in state constitutional and statutory law and in the body of common law as it is established by judicial decisions. Opinions written by state attorneys general also have an impact on the operation of the schools until such time as these might be set aside by statute or by the judiciary.

The Local Board of Education

The policymaking body of a school district is the board of education. The board of education is a corporate and political body and has the power expressly and implicitly given to it by statute. In many communities, members of the board of education are elected by the people in the com- munities that they serve; others have appointed boards of education. The method of the selection of members for the lay governing boards of private and parochial schools varies widely.

Regardless of the method by which members are selected, the duties of the school board are both legislative and quasi-judicial. The local school board has great latitude in daily operation of the schools, subject always, of course, to constitutional and statutory limitations.

The size of boards varies considerably both within states as well as between the various states. Although uncommon, some local school boards have as many as 17 members. Legal requirements for school board membership are minimal, usually including no more than such prerequisites as being a registered voter in the district, being nominated for the office, and being elected. Age requirements are common, and certain people often may not serve on a board of education if they hold some other governmental position that would be deemed a conflict of interest.

What local boards of education can do is circumscribed by a host of state and federal law, court opinion at both levels, attorneys general opinions at both levels, and expressed local com- munity expectations (see Figure 15.7).

State Education Agencies

Within the limitations of a particular state constitution, the state’s legislature has wide power to determine the purposes and the procedures for the subordinate levels of the education hierarchy. Usually, however, the laws issuing from the state legislature deal with general powers and pur- poses, leaving specific implementation to a state education agency and various intermediate and local school systems. The state education agency, or state department of education, itself is a creature of the legislature and is imbued with certain discretionary powers.

ISLLC 7, 10

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

344 P A R T F O U R / Interacting with the External School Environment

To carry out various legislative and constitutional provisions about education, any number of other boards of control exist, including controlling boards for higher education, vocational education, tenure, retirement, and similar activities. These are all in addition to a state board of education, which exists to determine policies that are then implemented by the state education agency. There are also a variety of agencies concerned with budgeting, accounting, building standards, health, school lunches, library services, civil defense, and a myriad of other activities in which the schools engage. In short, although the local school system is often viewed as an autonomous unit, it is subject to the controls and impingements from many other legally estab- lished community and state agencies.

All states have a chief state school officer who may be known as commissioner of educa- tion, state superintendent of schools, or a similar title. The number, term, and method of selection of members of a state board of education vary. Similarly, the method by which the state superin- tendent is selected varies.

Federal Influences on Education

Even though the U.S. Constitution is silent about a public education system, it is clear to even a casual observer that the role of the federal government has developed from one of “silence” to active, shared responsibility, with not a little control. The general welfare clause of the U.S. Constitution is most often cited as the constitutional provision that permits federal aid to public education. Federal programs tend to be categorical—that is, for an identified special purpose rather than generalized aid.

Categorical aid and specialized programs result in considerable federal influence and, ines- capably, restrictions. Few would quarrel with the intent behind PL 94–142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, or with the legislation that resulted in the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA),13 for example. And, we have already written about the complications caused by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

The implementation of these pieces of legislation has not been without administrative frus- tration. At times, positive legislative intent gets caught up in a maze of rules that seem to inhibit rather than facilitate. Nevertheless, the school administrator’s task is to make it work the way it was intended to work.

Federal interest has also resulted in the use of the schools as a tool for major social reform. This can best be exemplified by the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education

Local School Board

Autonomy

The Federal Constitution, Court Decisions, Congressional Enactments, USOE Requirements

Community Beliefs, Opinions, Outcries, Mores, Pressure Points

State Constitution, Court Decisions, Legislative Enactments, State Education Agency Rules

FIGURE 15.7 Circumscribed Local Authority for Schools

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

C H A P T E R 1 5 / Marketing the Schools 345

of Topeka in which the Supreme Court determined that “separate but equal” state provisions and de jure segregated educational systems in the United States were unconstitutional.

The federal interest is pervasive, and while it rises or declines in emphasis—depending on the philosophic stance of the executive and legislative branches of government—it nevertheless impinges greatly on the direction that local systems take.

An Interface of Levels

Each level of the government has its own areas of responsibility and autonomy. All of the levels interface, however, and there is both mutual obligation and dependence. Congress has authorized many educational programs for purposes that have been deemed especially important to the national interest. The U.S. Constitution itself grants to the states the responsibility for providing for public education. In turn, the states have delegated many of their powers to the local school district, while at the same time maintaining a vast number of regulatory controls over various aspects of the school operation, particularly in fiscal and program matters.

The previous sections established a contextual base for school and community relations. It is to the subject of the relationship of the publics and their specific schools that we turn. The focus now is on public relations practices and marketing techniques of schools. The subject is how principals can build a solid citizen-support base and communicate effectively with school patrons.

Promising Marketing Techniques: Dealing with Formal and Informal Forces

No one is in a better position to have a positive impact on the relationship between the school system and the community than the principal and the building staff. Not one single school district individual is in a position to interact in person with a greater number of community members than the principal. A district may spend huge sums of money on slick publications and a well- functioning, centrally located community relations office headed by a public information officer, but it is the principal who can be more influential on a day-to-day basis with individual school patrons. Even in this mass media environment, it is still the face-to-face encounter that provides the best basis for understanding and is the most influential in molding public opinion.

The greatest opportunity to influence and persuade, and to hear and feel the community pulse, occurs in the more intimate and often face-to-face settings likely to occur at the building level. Nevertheless, although the next section of the chapter will focus on marketing at the build- ing level, some attention will be given to districtwide marketing activities as well.

School–community communication endeavors may take several forms, any one of which has limitations. An effective school–community relations program will make use of a variety of media, and an alert principal will tailor the particular message to be conveyed to the appropriate medium.

Getting the Message Out: One-Way Marketing Techniques

There are numerous ways to broadcast a message from the school. Cooperative endeavors involv- ing print and electronic media, building- or system-developed newsletters and brochures, and even the routinely sent report card can all be put to effective use. These are, however, one-way devices; there is little or no way to know if the messages were received or understood.

ISLLC 4

ISLLC 1, 7

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

346 P A R T F O U R / Interacting with the External School Environment

Print and Electronic Media

Few communities are not served by at least a weekly newspaper, and no community is outside the reach of Internet services, radio, and television. These mass media are commonly used to impart information about the various agencies serving the community.

Newspapers vary from weekly or biweekly advertisers, with perhaps a few columns report- ing highly localized activities, to urban dailies with several editions. Depending on the kind of newspaper, a principal’s role will differ. A principal may write news releases that will be pub- lished mostly word for word or meet with news reporters who will recast the stories in their own words. In any case, the development of good relations with the working press is essential. Reporters or editors will ask principals for information about developing stories or news items more often than for stories containing general information about what’s going on in the schools.

The news media have their problems, too. Newspapers and television stations are busi- nesses, with advertising to sell, bills to pay, and subscribers to satisfy. Some people are surprised to learn that 25 percent or less of newspaper space is devoted to stories and 75 percent or more to advertising. This percentage affects the amount of school news that will get printed. Moreover, news editors deal with many other agencies and pressure groups, each championing causes or matters for the “public good,” so there is competition for available space.

A frequent complaint of reporters is that schools tend to engage only in “gold-star” story writing. The charge is that many school administrators are only too eager to publicize praisewor- thy news items but will back away from or become upset about legitimate adverse criticism. An adverse story is legitimate news, and when such a story breaks, the school official and the news- paper both have a job to do. Covering up a weakness or refusing to respond to a legitimate inquiry about a potentially embarrassing situation can only lead to bad press relations, widening credibil- ity gap, and frequently, bad reporting.

Techniques for Dealing with the Mass Media. News releases should be developed in a way that conforms to the requirements of the different media. Releases for radio and television must be shorter, more repetitious, and in a style that is more conversational than that used for newspapers.

Relationships with representatives of the various media, as well as district policy, will determine whether the person releasing the news concentrates on writing and distributing releases or on furnishing suggestions and information to journalists who in turn write their own material. In urban settings with large dailies and “live eye” television, reporters write their own stories, but they do need to be advised about promising sources, fast-breaking news, upcoming events, and policy changes. They also need to be provided with good background material.

In small towns and cities and in suburban and rural districts, local news will generally be disseminated by daily, biweekly, and weekly newspapers, ranging from miniversions of the large city dailies to four-page advertisers. In many of these places, a school official will frequently write an entire story with little assistance from an editor.

Articles and stories about scheduled events should be prepared well in advance, with photographs of speakers or others involved in the program provided to the news media before the event occurs. Often, as a matter of policy, newspapers will not print information about a past event. Follow-up reports should be prepared for the media as soon as possible after an event. The school principal should try to be aware of various media deadlines; missing a deadline means the story may never get printed.

ISLLC 8

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

C H A P T E R 1 5 / Marketing the Schools 347

Even small school systems are employing public information officers to facilitate and coordinate the flow of information from school to community. The duties vary and in some school systems the job may be only part time. Even where the job is full time and the public rela- tions program is well developed, it is still the principal who will be sought as the prime source of fast-breaking news, and in time of crisis. Figure 15.8 contains eight practices to facilitate a good working relationship with representatives of the media.

District Policy Considerations. The latitude a principal has with the press will depend in great part on the press policy of the school district. News media personnel, however, are most sensitive to what they perceive to be censorship and normally respond negatively to the sugges- tion that every story or every interview must be cleared with the central office. A policy that requires all school personnel to refer reporters and editors to the central office rather than answer questions or that sends the news media to the central office for all information will damage press relations, if rigidly enforced. Obviously, fast-breaking news items of a potentially explosive nature require discretion on the part of the school principal. But a principal standing in an obvi- ous crisis situation does no service by saying, “I have no information” or “You must call the public information office.”

The public information program needs continual evaluation. It really is not very valuable to send out large numbers of news releases if few are used, and submitting too much material in an indiscriminate way may result in few stories being published. The lesson is clear: News media are most impressed by articles that contain only timely and worthwhile information. These will stand the best chance of getting reported.

School News Items File. There are many missed opportunities to present the school to the public in a positive way. The typical school is a beehive of activity, much of which would be of interest to one segment or another of the public. The difficulty is that many schools have no

FIGURE 15.8 Working with the Media

■ Give reporters story ideas and information, but remember it is editors and news directors who decide what should be covered.

■ Be aware of when reporters’ deadlines fall.

■ Prepare articles about scheduled events well in advance and submit photographs at the same time.

■ Make releases for radio and television shorter, more repetitious, and in a more conversational style than those for the print media.

■ Avoid provoking reporters with “no comment” statements. Help reporters write potentially adverse stories by giving complete information and background.

■ Anticipate the reporters’ needs and have background information written ahead of time for distribution. (Don’t trust that a “general beat” reporter knows much about schooling.)

■ Avoid jargon and in-house language; it may not be understood, especially by a “general beat” reporter.

■ Invite newspersons—reporters and their editors—to the school for lunch and periodic tours without trying to sell them on a story at the time. Get them acquainted with the school scene.

ISLLC 8

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

348 P A R T F O U R / Interacting with the External School Environment

central place where ongoing activities are recorded. Thus, when a reporter calls or an editor requests a story, a school often cannot adequately meet the need.

An especially effective practice is the use of a School News Item File, depicted in Figure 15.9. Many activities in the school are probably newsworthy, but without encouragement and facilitation, they will go unreported. Each staff member should have a supply of the news item forms to jot down projects that might be especially interesting, and on a regular basis these forms should be sent to the principal’s office. The principal can then file the reports in a folder labeled according to the kind of project, and a news reporter can simply review the files, selecting any particular items to follow up. This practice helps both the reporter, whose responsibility it is to find news, and the principal, whose responsibility it is to provide news but not necessarily to write the story.

Newsletters and Bulletins. The principal and school staff commonly attempt to communicate with the home and outside agencies through newsletters and bulletins. These can be useful if employed judiciously and if well done. But a bad message is conveyed when a newsletter arrives home crumpled in the pocket of a student, hard to read, and containing out-of-date information. If newsletters and bulletins are to be used, the format should be simple, the information conveyed should be written concisely and free of educational jargon, and the method of getting these mes- sages home should be via mail and e-mail. Newsletters sent home with children often do little but

Type of News Item:

Curriculum Project Activities of Staff School Awards Student Activities (field trips, special recognition, etc.) New or Interesting Instructional Techniques Continuing Difficult Problems Other

Title of Project or Item:

Description of Project or Item:

Persons Involved: (how many, and who—names, addresses, titles, etc.)

Dollars Involved and Sources of These Dollars:

Who to Contact for Further Information:

FIGURE 15.9 School News Item File

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

C H A P T E R 1 5 / Marketing the Schools 349

contribute to a neighborhood litter problem. If the newsletter is not produced with care and printed in an attractive manner, it is simply not worth the bother. Care should also be taken to recognize the multilingual nature of many communities.

Now it is easy to prepare newsletters and bulletins that appear professional in makeup. Desktop publishing programs produce an attractive product—complete with graphics.

Report Cards. Report cards are often overlooked as public relations mechanisms, but they are the single-most regular way in which schools disseminate information to the home. Both teachers and parents like them to be uncomplicated. Yet, consideration of all of the ways in which a stu- dent is growing, developing, and learning defies summing up progress with a single letter grade. Thus, the development of an appropriate reporting procedure will require careful study by the staff and include a faculty–layperson committee to develop a report form that is easy to under- stand but that also contains important kinds of information relative to the student’s progress.

If the purpose of a reporting system is to develop an effective communication link with parents and if parents value highly written reports, then the school should use some form of a written report card. A written report of grades alone is not adequate, however, and a more per- sonal communication link, such as additional comments written by the teacher on the report card or a parent–teacher conference, should be added.

To effectively report a child’s progress, a report card should provide three kinds of information. First, it should estimate the child’s overall ability compared to other children the same age. This can be done through standardized tests or the teacher’s judgment of the child’s ability based on diagnosis and observations. Second, the report card should indicate the child’s individual progress. During the elementary and middle grades, this should be based on estimated ability and a measure of the child’s achievement in the classroom since the last marking period. This statement is not a comparison to other children; rather, it is the teacher’s estimate of whether the child is achieving as much as possible. Finally, the report card should describe the child’s conduct in school. Conduct may be rated with a check mark to indicate satisfactory behavior or with a code that indicates outstanding citizenship, satisfactory behavior, or unsatisfactory behavior.

Internet Programs. More and more schools are using Internet programs as an effective way to share school information with the home such as websites, as well as social media services like Facebook or Twitter. No crumpled papers in a student’s jacket pocket with this strategy. Programs such as “schoolloop.com”14 and others provide information to students and parents about grades, reading lists, attendance patterns, school assignments, and a host of material designed to keep parents and student aware of what is going on, what is expected, and what needs to be done. Chapter 14 on technology provides more detail on appropriate communication tools.

The Fog Index

Writing well requires careful consideration of who it is that will be receiving the message. We have called attention to the need to consider the multilingual nature of many school communities, but effectively conveying information in writing requires more than using the native language of the intended receiver—it requires using that language meaningfully. That dictates straightfor- ward sentences, unencumbered nouns and verbs, and common language. Simplicity, lack of clut- ter, and avoidance of jargon and pedagogical phraseology are required. This can be done without

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

350 P A R T F O U R / Interacting with the External School Environment

talking down to people. Newspapers accomplish it daily. The messages should not rely on some- one having a high school education to understand them. The nearer the messages come to a sixth- or seventh-grade reading level, the better. Many word processing programs have readability statistics features. Microsoft Word, for example, uses both the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level and the Flesch Reading Ease level for any selected passage.

Getting the Message Out and Back: Two-Way Marketing Techniques

Information dissemination is not synonymous with communication. Because of the failure to make this distinction, many public relations efforts fail. In this final part of this chapter, let us focus on proven communication techniques.

The Message Was Sent—What Happened?

The co incommunication suggests a closed loop. That is, the message was not only sent but it was received and responded to in a way that indicates it was understood. There are five important questions to ask when examining the quality of information devices:

1. If the message was received, was it read (heard)? 2. If it was read (heard), was it understood? 3. If it was understood, was it understood in the right spirit? 4. If it was understood in the right spirit, will it be acted on in a positive way? 5. How do you know?

The fifth question is an evaluation question. Of all the communication techniques and structures available, some approaches seem the most promising for principals to use.

Community Advisory Councils

The trend to greater autonomy at the school-building level has brought with it increasing use by principals of community advisory councils. In some states, legislation establishing greater school-unit autonomy and concomitant greater principal accountability has also mandated community advisory councils. Parents, teachers, and sometimes students are included in such councils.

Issues often arise about what is policy advising and what is policy making. Clearly, the reason for advisory councils is to have a formally established way for community and faculty representatives to share information with the principal and suggest alternative approaches to solving problems of schooling. In the best of worlds, the councils provide the principal with additional expertise and useful insights that will result in maximum feasible decisions. Note, though, that “advising” is not the same as “decisioning.” Nevertheless, would it be a foolish principal who found himself or herself always operating contrary to the advice of the council?

ISLLC 7

ISLLC 7, 9, 5

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

C H A P T E R 1 5 / Marketing the Schools 351

Membership on the Advisory Council. State law or local district policy may prescribe the nature of membership of the council and/or how members are to be selected. Lacking this, it seems fundamental that members, whether elected or appointed by the principal, should repre- sent a cross-section of the local community.

Achieving Maximum Output from an Advisory Council. Lack of clarity and understanding about the role of council members and about the difference between helping to make policy and policy implementation can become a source of conflict. People work best when they are aware of expectations and limitations. To establish a framework for advisory council activities, the school principal should follow these guidelines:

1. Establish the essential conditions that any solution, action plan, or policy must meet if it is to be acceptable. Are there financial, legal, or district policy considerations that must be taken into account? Are there activities that are known to not be in the best interests of learners? Are there activities that, in good conscience, the principal would not carry out? State limitations upfront so that everyone knows about them.

2. Help the group establish a specific time line and a set date for task completion. 3. Indicate what resources are available to the group. 4. Specify what specific outcomes are desired. 5. Establish the limits of the group’s authority in the issue at hand. That is, is the principal

asking for a final decision, for some alternative decisions, or simply for some advice?

Focus Groups

Research bureaus, professional associations, and advertising agencies, among other organi- zations, have used focus groups for years to define issues, anticipate problems, explore reac- tions to potential problems, develop alternative scenarios, and plan leaps into the future. A focus group is an example of a nonprobability sampling technique. The technique employs directional rather than quantitative data and can be used to great effectiveness as both a school public relations technique and a creative problem-solving technique. Focus groups, however, are not decision-making bodies nor are they even advisory bodies. Rather, they are groups of community members whose opinions about an issue the principal wants to learn. The purpose is both problem sensing and problem solving, but the problem “sensor” and the problem “solver” is not the focus group. The focus group provides feelings, attitudes, and information.

A focus group consists of a small number of people—8 to 10 are recommended. Each group represents a segment of the school/community population. The purpose of meeting with a focus group is to gain an assessment of how people feel about a school-related issue or problem—or anticipated problem. Typically, a meeting lasts no more than an hour, and no more than four questions are asked of the group. A moderator takes notes on the discussion, noting the key concepts, levels of intensity, and new information. Verbatim comments are recorded to the degree possible, absent editing. It is not important that the group meet in the school. A union hall, church basement, or apartment complex hospitality room might be a more convenient and comfortable choice for meetings.

ISLLC 4

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

352 P A R T F O U R / Interacting with the External School Environment

Business and Other Community Partnerships

Many benefits, such as the following, can be gained from well-organized business/industry/ education partnerships. Here are some examples of practices that have been successful:

■ The executives of a leading business have developed a training program in ethics and give their top staff released time to work with children in this program.

■ A psychiatric hospital offers free counseling services to its “adopted school.” ■ A leading manufacturer of computers releases its personnel to work with teachers and stu-

dents in more effective use of computer technology (and not just in the use of the manufac- turer’s own computers, either).

■ A business sends school principals to its executive training program. ■ A business employs science teachers in its research and development department during

summers and at other times. ■ Companies offer in-service programs as well as tutorial services. ■ A firm provides work opportunities for students who need financial help to stay in school. ■ An elementary school helps community leaders better understand the complexities of educat-

ing a child and help them develop an appreciation for the problems and pleasures of teaching. ■ A high school capitalizes on the technical expertise that is available in the community and

using that expertise for staff updating as well as for program analysis and student tutoring.

To be maximally effective and to avoid costly misunderstandings, cooperative programs must be well coordinated. Although the principal does not need to be the one who manages the program, he or she is responsible for making sure that the program is well administered and supervised.

Key Communicators

Many principals capitalize on their knowledge of the community influence structure and develop a list of “key communicators.” These are the persons to be contacted when there is a need to dissemi- nate information quickly about the school. Key communicators are influential people in the immedi- ate community who have an identified interest in the school. These people are influential because they interact with large numbers of people and are trusted. A loose organization of such individuals is eas- ily formed. From time to time, the group might meet with the principal and other professionals in the building to discuss what is going on at the school that would be of general community interest. After an initial meeting, the key communicators are kept informed about such things as school budgets, new curricula, teacher turnover, and new construction. The group, as individuals and in collective feed- back sessions, keeps the principal informed about “rumblings and rumors” in the community.

As always, care should be taken to see that all dimensions of the school community are tapped. The notion of using key communicators capitalizes on communications research, which continues to indicate that individual members of a community get most of the information from which attitudes and beliefs are formed in a word-of-mouth fashion—even in this mass media age.

Principal-Organized Interaction Sessions

In excellent schools, principals have regular “tell-it-to-the-principal” interaction sessions. Concerned about establishing and maintaining good relationships with students and parents,

ISLLC 7

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

C H A P T E R 1 5 / Marketing the Schools 353

principals have initiated two kinds of sessions. One is a student–principal program conducted regularly in the principal’s office or over lunch in a more secluded part of the school cafeteria. Attendance is limited to 8 or 10 students, and it is important that a representative sample of stu- dents participates. In these open-forum sessions, students express interests, discuss grievances, and make suggestions about the general improvement of the school.

The same sorts of session can be scheduled for parents and other community members. Patrons are invited to the meeting, and reservations are taken for a dozen or so patrons. Special invitations are necessary to ensure representativeness.

The rule for the meeting is that anything goes, except for personal complaints about indi- vidual teachers (which must be reserved for private, individual sessions). Two or three hours will provide an opportunity for an informal exchange of ideas. For the principal, the session is a good sensing mechanism to find out what patrons are concerned about and to get some notion of impending problem situations. For the patrons, it is a good opportunity to learn about the opera- tion of the school and to raise questions about the educational practices.

One of the difficulties in engendering community support is the inadequacy of the informa- tion exchange between the school and the home. Organized, yet informal, parent–principal forums help. Complex ideas are difficult to express in the usual one-way bulletins or news stories that frequently serve as major sources of information for parents and other community members. Complex ideas are best tested in a face-to-face setting.

Parent–Teacher Conferences

Planned parent–teacher conferences can be an important element in a school–community rela- tions program. Principal need to consider factors such as working parents, one-parent house- holds, a parent’s occupation that would preclude attendance at parent–teacher conferences scheduled during the normal school day, the language spoken, and transportation difficulties that might influence the success of the endeavor. These and other constraints can be overcome with diligent work on the part of school personnel.

Internet programs are often put to effective use for teacher to parent information sharing. Attendance reports, disciplinary actions, homework assignments, among other information of relevance to learning are readily available. (See Chapter 14 for more detail.)

Parent–Teacher Organizations

Historically, a PTA or PTO has served as the main, and sometimes only, organized school out- reach program. Principals should use whatever devices are available to facilitate a two-way flow of information; in the case of PTOs,15 effectiveness has varied markedly throughout the country.

Nothing good happens automatically just because an organization is labeled in such a way as to suggest a formal relationship with the school. Parent–teacher organizations can provide a useful avenue for interaction between school and community if meetings are organized to provide an opportunity for both formal and informal interaction and if the organization is given important tasks to perform. The key seems to be active involvement in tasks. Parent organizations, just like other community organizations, are competing for the time of their members. Whether a parent or a teacher elects to spend Thursday evening at a PTO meeting will depend on whether that time is viewed as productively occupied.

ISLLC 4

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

354 P A R T F O U R / Interacting with the External School Environment

A good parent–teacher group will spend less time meeting formally and more time in sub- groups considering important tasks to be performed around the school and the community. Organizing business–industry–education days for the career development program in the school, developing after-school programs for children and adults in the community, recruiting and train- ing paraprofessionals, and working on curriculum review teams are the kinds of activities in which an effective PTO engages.

One common problem that inhibits the usefulness of a PTO as a communication device is the unevenness of the membership makeup. Even though the school may serve a heterogeneous popu- lation, the active membership is often almost entirely persons from only one thread in the societal fabric. Thus, the principal should examine the membership of the parent organization carefully. If the organization is to be used as an effective communication device and the school community is heterogeneous, a membership that reflects the school community at large becomes most important. If the membership is not reflective, then it is likely that important opinions are not being heard and the organization is not promoting information exchange with the broader community.

In schools that are “magnets” and draw a substantial number of students from widely dis- persed areas, a traditional parent–teacher organization may be difficult to maintain, even with the most intense efforts. Under such a circumstance, energy might be directed more efficiently to other involvement techniques—special clubs and booster organizations, for example, or the use of any of the available Internet programs and services.

Community Surveys

Surveying community attitudes and opinions can be effective, especially as a school district enters an evaluation phase in an effort to establish or review educational goals, objectives, and priorities. Such a survey can lead to community committees and a revitalization of community involvement in educational policymaking.

Educational surveys may be conducted in a variety of ways. The most common method is to mail questionnaires to a random sample of the population living in a particular school attend- ance area. A better technique to employ, if the time and person power are available, is to conduct house-to-house interviews using a structured interview technique and calling on a random sam- ple of the population, making sure that all parts of the community are included in the sample. Telephone surveys may also provide a reasonable alternative.

When done properly, however, surveys are expensive to conduct. Often, too, the number of responses is disappointingly small—so small or so unrepresentative that the results are unreliable. Nevertheless, finding out periodically and regularly what community members think is very important. Demographics change, public opinion is fluid, and accurate information is essential to good administrative decision making. At the very least, the principal does not want to be blind- sided. A crisis rarely occurs without some early indications, unrest, and dissatisfaction.

Summary

Developing good relations with the community and with persons in the school attendance area is one of the most important tasks for the principal. People live in a highly diverse society, and the children being educated belong to that society. Even in remote areas, differences exist and attitudes vary, affected, certainly, by access to the Internet, television, books, and magazines. The schisms that sepa- rate many in society are often manifest in the relationships with public institutions such as schools.

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

C H A P T E R 1 5 / Marketing the Schools 355

School leaders are faced with the myriad of social changes that have occurred during the recent past. As a result of these changes—in societal makeup, in economic makeup, in techno- logical change, and in global interactions, among others—the attitudes and orientations of the school’s publics are at times confounding and always challenging.

This chapter has had both a macro focus and micro focus. Schools exist as a part of the greater society and culture, but schools also exist in the smaller world of cities, suburbs, towns, villages, and importantly, in neighborhoods. It is at the neighborhood level that the greatest inter- action with the publics occurs. And it is in the neighborhoods that attitudes are formed. It is here where the school principal plays the important role. Certain hot-button issues can be anticipated and be dealt with in the neighborhood. School board policies can be best explained in the neigh- borhood. Citizens’ advisory groups are most effective in the neighborhood, where action can be more easily implemented. For these reasons, the principal’s involvement is critical.

We have identified a number of community forces—some more local than others—and have presented strategies for working with those forces. Two-way means of information dissemi- nation seem to be the most effective. These are also, however, the most complex of the public relations processes. But then, no one ever seriously wrote that being a school principal was easy.

The National School Public Relations Association16 reports a four-step process for the effective marketing of the schools.17 We conclude this chapter with that process:

1. Research. An analysis of where the school stands in regard to all the publics it wishes to reach. 2. An Action Plan. The development of public relations goals, objectives, and strategies that

are consistent with the district’s overall mission and goals. 3. Communication and Implementation Procedures. Carrying out the tactics necessary to

meet the objectives and goals. 4. Evaluation. Examining the actions taken to determine the relative effectiveness and decid-

ing on what changes may be needed in the future.

1. Reflect on Cases 2, 25, and 28 in Appendix A. How will you respond in each of these situations?

2. Case Study 27 in Appendix A focuses on zero tolerance. How do you respond to the different situations in the case? What public relations issues might you foresee? What additional information would you seek?

3. Case Study 5 in Appendix A has controversial books as a central theme and a disturbed community group as a message bearer. Given the concepts in this chapter, what will be your approach?

4. Investigate the kinds of one-way and two-way informa- tion processing in your school programs. What means of evaluation are currently in place with regard to the effectiveness of these programs? What means might you suggest?

5. Collect some demographic data about the commu- nity(ies) in your school attendance area. Racial and eth- nic data will provide a starting point but also investigate housing patterns, public services, and commercial

development. Check census tract information. Do a drive-about and note locations.

Then, examine the rolls of important school– community groups: advisory councils, booster clubs, PTA/PTO, and so on. To what extent is active member- ship in the identified group representative of the nature of the adult population and the student population? Are there any differences in the makeup? What do any dif- ferences suggest about what kinds of public relations devices might better be employed?

6. Who are the legislators that represent your school attendance area? What have been their positions on school issues? Do they ever visit your school? (Have they ever been invited?)

7. Turn to the ISLLC standards and review the functions in Standards 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Which of the items in the standards relate to the concepts in this chapter? Relate one function in each standard to a concept expressed in this chapter.

A C T I V I T I E S

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

356 P A R T F O U R / Interacting with the External School Environment

1. These are not new terms. Over 125 years ago the classic distinction between Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft was reported in a book in 1887 written by German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies. See C. T. Loomis, and his section trans- lated and supplemented from Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft (first edition 1887) in Fundamental Concepts of Sociology (New York, NY: American Book Co., 1940).

2. Nearly a century ago, sociologist Howard Becker hypothe- sized that societies could be viewed as moving along a sacred-secular continuum (Howard Becker, Systematic Sociology [New York, NY: Wiley, 1932], pp. 223–226).

3. For the Most Challenged Books lists, see details from the American Library Association at http://www.ala.org

4. Ronnie Casella, “Violence and Threats of Violence,” in Current Issues in School Leadership, ed. Larry W. Hughes (Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2005), p. 21.

5. For an interesting analysis, read Nate Blakeslee’s article in Texas Monthly, May, 2013, pp. 125+. The article focuses on responses to NCLB in Texas.

6. Larry W. Hughes, “Politics, Pressure Groups, and School Change,” in Current Issues in School Leadership, ed. Larry W. Hughes (Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2005), p. 5.

7. Jesse Bernard, Community Behavior (New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston), p. 358.

8. Revised from Larry W. Hughes and Don W. Hooper, Public Relations for School Leaders (Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 2000), p. 14.

9. Ibid.

10. Library materials, as well as assigned published materials classroom, are a constant source of parent and community complaint. The books in J. K. Rowling’s popular Harry Potter series, for example, have come under fire in some places from the “religious right.” “Satanism” and “witch- craft” are the battle cries. The books actually promote friend- ship, loyalty, good over evil, and high ethical principles, and use great adventures to capture the attention of readers.

11. M. Fullen, Change Forces: The Sequel (Philadelphia, PA: Falmer Press, 1999), p. 328.

12. “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

13. As with much legislation, these two acts came about as a result of much concerted action on the part of the informal sectors of society—groups and individuals who exerted much pressure for federal action.

14. School Loop Plus is one such program. There are a large number of school management systems available. Search for “School Management Systems.” The following are repre- sentative: Skyward; Schoolfront for K-12; SchoolBrains; School-wide Management System; and Administrator’s Plus.

15. We will use the initials “PTO” to refer to all parent–teacher groups.

16. National School Public Relations Association, 15948 Derwood Rd., Rockville, MD 20855, or on Internet at http://nspra.org

17. http://www.nspra.org/node/49 (May 12, 2013).

E N D N O T E S

Blakeslee, Nate, “Crash Test,” Texas Monthly (May 2013), pp. 124+.

Blank, M., “Community Schools: Engaging Parents and Families.” Principal 83 (2004): 65.

Jaksec, Charles M., The Difficult Parent: Handling Aggressive Behavior (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2005).

Kowalski, Theodore, Public Relations in Schools (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2010).

McConnell, S., “Exercising the Power of Grassroots Advocacy.” Principal 84, no. 3 (2005): 34–37.

Moore, Edward H., School Public Relations for Student Success (Thousand Oaks CA: Corwin Press, 2009).

Sanders, Mavis. Building School–Community Partnerships (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2005).

Wayson, William W., Charles M. Achilles, Gay Su Pinnell, M. Nan Lintz, Lila N. Carol, and Lavern Cunningham, Handbook for Developing Public Confidence in Schools (Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, 1988). Do not let the copyright date fool you. This is still the best single guidebook around. It is practical, penetrating, and current.

Wooleyhand, C. D., D. Swietik, L. K. Winter, and Mark W. Mitchell, “Family Power,” Educational Leadership 65, no. 7 (2008).

S E L E C T E D R E A D I N G S

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

357

Problem Analysis, Decision Processing, and Decision Making: Introduction to the Cases

A school leader’s day is characterized by one encounter after another with staff members, students, parents, community members, politicians, and a myriad of other diverse individuals and sub- groups. For the school principal, a simple walk down the hall from the office to resolve a problem in the cafeteria may result in half a dozen or more encounters with this or that teacher, custodian, parent, or child, all of whom have questions and requests and problems that the principal is asked to solve. Hurried answers are shouted over the shoulder.

The principal is thrust into a maelstrom during the routine of most days. The rapidity and intensity of encounters and the life span of the problems will vary. Frequently, the time frames will be short and the databases will seem too meager.

In order to arrive at the best decision, it is first necessary to define the problem correctly. Then, one needs to think about the decision processes that are available to resolve the problem. Many response patterns are open to any executive. Selecting the right one will determine whether the problem will be resolved or at least mitigated or whether even greater problems result. Anticipating the consequences of any particular process or act is more than an intellectual exercise.

Few problems have to be solved at the moment. There is almost always some time—albeit often not much—to reflect on the nature of the problem and the likely decision process that will result in a satisfactory solution. The fundamental questions to be asked are these:

■ Do I have at hand the information necessary to solve this problem? ■ Whose support will be necessary in order to effect a long-term solution? ■ How likely is it that I will get this support if I go ahead and make the decision on my own? ■ Does this problem need immediate attention? ■ On what rationale, value, or theory am I basing my decision? ■ What specific, or implicit, references or citations in this text can give you guidance in the

analysis and/or solution to this problem?

A P P E N D I X A

Case Studies in School Leadership and Management

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

358 A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management

On the pages that follow are case studies about problems that occur in and around schools—student problems, angry clients, budget crunches, maintenance issues, staff appraisal difficulties, dilemmas about curriculum, conflicts about a multitude of issues—most not simple. In any given case, select analytical processes that seem to you to be the most appropriate.

As you analyze the cases, make only those assumptions that are reasonable, given the lim- ited number of facts provided. But remember, you are the executive who is confronted by the issue, not someone else. It is your problem; however, you do not have to solve the problem. Your task is to analyze the issue and set in motion a process that you believe will result in a good solution. Determine what you believe is the main problem or issue and indicate any subproblems or issues. The ISLLC Standard and its functions identified with each case may be helpful in providing a focus.

Case Studies: Primary Subject Matter and Decision Level

CASE ISLLC

STANDARD CURRICULUM PERSONNEL STUDENTS PUBLIC

RELATIONS FINANCE

1 2 x

2 7, 10 x x x

3 8 x x x

4 5, 7, 10 x x

5 4, 7, 9 x x

6 7, 8 x

7 3, 10, 11 x x

8 6, 8 x x x

9 6, 8, 11 x

10 6 x x x

11 2, 3, 4 x x

12 7, 8, 9 x x

13 3, 4, 8 x x x

14 2, 3, 4 x x x

15 3, 8, 9 x x

16 10 x x x

17 6 x

18 2, 4, 8, 9 x x x

19 5, 9 x

20 8 x x

21 5, 8 x x

22 6, 8, 9 x x x

23 2 x x

24 8 x

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management 359

25 8 x x

26 2, 5 x x x

27 5, 8, 9 x

28 2, 4, 8, 9 x x x

29 6, 8, 10 x x

30 2, 3, 8, 10 x x

31 5, 8, 10 x x x

32 8, 10 x x x

33 8 x x

34 8 x x

35 3, 7, 8, 10 x x x

36 1, 11 x x x x x

LIST OF CASE STUDIES

Case Study 1 A Different Applicant

Case Study 2 Satanism!

Case Study 3 Don’t Mess with My Budget

Case Study 4 Trouble Brewing at Scott Larry Middle School

Case Study 5 The Library Patrons

Case Study 6 Where Will the Money Come From?

Case Study 7 Which Textbook Will It Be?

Case Study 8 The Banquet or the Test or Both?

Case Study 9 The New Photocopier

Case Study 10 How Safe Is the School?

Case Study 11 Mrs. Davis Is a Bad Teacher

Case Study 12 Dress Code Violated

Case Study 13 Back to the Basics

Case Study 14 A Parent Complains; The Teacher Doesn’t Respond

Case Study 15 Welcome: Please Change Janie’s Teacher

Case Study 16 We Object!

Case Study 17 Mike Is the Best You Have

Case Study 18 Write Your Legislators

Case Study 19 I Wish I Was Dead

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

360 A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management

Case Study 20 Who Gets the Money?

Case Study 21 Gun in the School

Case Study 22 Late Practice

Case Study 23 Who Gets the Job?

Case Study 24 More Fights

Case Study 25 Students Are “Hanging Around” in the Shops

Case Study 26 Why Can’t Graceilla Go to College?

Case Study 27 Zero Tolerance

Case Study 28 Test Travesty

Case Study 29 Where Should the Money Go?

Case Study 30 Fire Her and I’m Going to the Board!

Case Study 31 What Next for Billy?

Case Study 32 Why Can’t I Play?

Case Study 33 Cell Phones

Case Study 34 The Dress Code Is Violated

Case Study 35 Over the Line?

Case Study 36 What Do We Want Our School to Become?

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

Case Studies

Case Study 1: A Different Applicant

Recruitment activities are well underway. As principal of a large middle school, you have filled almost all the upcoming vacancies. You are still seeking a person to teach at least three remedial mathematics classes as part of a load. Usually it is difficult to find teachers for these classes because the students who are assigned are generally not prepared and sometimes difficult to handle.

One candidate, Eileen Duvall, seems well prepared for the assignment. She last served as an instructor in an educational program managed by the state department of prisons for inmates. She has not yet met with your faculty selection committee, but you have some time cleared on your calendar today and decide to interview her a day or so before the committee does because of convenience.

As your secretary escorts Ms. Duvall into your office, you are surprised by her appear- ance. She is well groomed and dressed professionally, but she is not more four feet tall and she walks haltingly. She clambers into the chair you have for those being interviewed and the inter- view begins.

On paper, Ms. Duvall is well qualified. Her credentials are good. Her manner is pleasant. She explained her reason for leaving her latest employment: She trained to be a public school teacher but could not locate a job. She is tired of the institutional life under which prisoners must live. She wants to be with young people and is once again seeking a position in a public school.

Neither of the other two candidates is academically as strong or as experienced as Ms. Duvall. But, as you know, Ms. Duvall will be assigned the “worst” students in the school—mostly boys and a few girls who either have been retained at least one grade or have had previous assignments to alternative schools for those who have had serious behavioral problems.

So, what do you do?

Note: Cases 1-35 have all been developed by and written by Larry W. Hughes. Ph.D.

361

ISLLC 2

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

362 A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management

Case 2: Satanism!

You are principal of an elementary school with an enrollment of 550. A small group of parents is meeting with you in your office. They belong to a neighborhood denominational church. You have seated them around a small table.

The problem, the spokesperson says, is one of your sixth-grade teachers. She is having a Halloween party and the children are to come in any costume they wish. “We object to this! Halloween is nothing but a pagan holiday and is contrary to what we teach in our church. This holiday has no place in a school.” Your school has no policy with regard to holiday celebrations.

How do you respond to the parents? What other actions, if any, will you take?

Case 3: Don’t Mess with My Budget

You are the principal. As you conduct a review of the school’s science program, you are aware of the following:

1. Students from your unit do not do well on the SAT or similar tests and complain about not being able to get into prestigious colleges and universities.

2. Enrollments in advanced science classes have been dropping steadily over the past five years.

3. Many of your science teachers did not major in science; it is their second teaching field. 4. Some members of the community have been clamoring for “a better science program.” 5. The superintendent of schools and the deputy in the district’s division of instruction have

just mounted an effort to persuade the board of education that massive additional resources need to be expended on reading programs in the schools.

6. Principals in your district have considerable latitude in the development and implementa- tion of an instructional budget.

7. The amount of your instructional budget is determined by a basic allotment plus a factor, which is largely a result of the average daily attendance in the previous year.

8. There is a good bit of jealousy among the academic departments about matters of budget. 9. A change of attendance zone boundaries has recently occurred because a new freeway

displaced several hundred families. The impact of this on your school is a 15 percent increase in students from homes in which English is not the primary language.

10. No overall increase in your budget for next year can be expected. Your average daily attendance is about the same from year to year.

How will you proceed to make budget allocations for next year?

Case 4: Trouble Brewing at Scott Larry Middle School

You are the new principal of Scott Larry Middle School. The school has had three different prin- cipals in the past five years. It is August 1 and school will be opening soon. You have the follow- ing facts at hand:

ISLLC 7, 10

ISLLC 8

ISLLC 5, 7, 10

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management 363

1. Enrollment is 1,200 students in grades 5 through 8 and the school is in an urban setting. 2. Although the total population of the school is relatively stable, there is much transience.

About 35 percent of your students will “turn over” in any given year, some leaving and returning within the year, many just leaving or entering.

3. Your student population is 30 percent African American, 35 percent Hispanic, and about 10 percent Asian, mostly Vietnamese. Projections are for an increasingly declining white population. Many of the white parents in the attendance area send their children to one of two private schools, one of which is parochial.

4. A little more than one-quarter of the students come from a nearby public housing project. 5. About one-fourth of the students are bused in because of a special extended day program

that your district maintains in a few of its middle schools. 6. The attendance area that your school serves has an adult population composed of 65 percent

white, 12 percent black, 13 percent Hispanic, and 5 percent Asian. Socioeconomic status indicators suggest a wide range of economic levels. Housing ranges from upper-middle class to substandard housing. Recently, young married couples with no children have been taking advantage of some housing bargains in one of the neighborhoods and there has been a substantial in-migration of these couples.

7. The teaching staff has a 20 percent annual turnover and is bimodal in teaching experience— that is, a large number of teachers are in their first three years of teaching and a large number have over 15 years of experience. Only a few of your teachers are in their interme- diate years.

8. There doesn’t seem to be a very active PTO. 9. Your predecessor left no plans for the three-day staff in-service program that is to begin

each school year.

Case 5: The Library Patrons

You are the principal of David Thomas Elementary School (K–8) with an enrollment of 840 students. The community the school serves is in a growing area of exurbia with an increasingly diverse population. A new group has formed, labeling themselves The Library Patrons. The group is not formally affiliated with the school and, in fact, before today, you had never even heard of it. The group has targeted a number of books in the library that the members have deter- mined are inappropriate for your school’s age group and have sent you a paper demanding the establishment of a citizens’ committee that would establish “age-appropriate policies for the selection and distribution of books with sexual, gay, and drug themes and those with ‘bad’ lan- guage.” The group wants some of these books banned entirely. It also insists that key members of the group be included on the citizens’ committee. The paper has several signatories, some of whom are well-known community activists.

Among the books on the list are Silly Duck by Harvey Firestein, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, and the anonymously authored Go Ask Alice. The first two on this abbreviated list have “sexual or gay content,” Steinbeck “uses offensive language,” the Harry Potter books have a heavy focus on wizardry and magic and seem “antireligious,” and Go Ask Alice deals with drug use among young persons. The other books listed have similar features.

ISLLC 4, 7, 9

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

364 A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management

The group wants to meet with you in the next week and to help you decide who should be on the citizens’ review committee. The group also wants immediate removal of the cited books until the committee meets and makes its recommendations.

Case 6: Where Will the Money Come From?

You are the principal of Lori Albright Middle School. You have an Activity Fund that has proved useful to your program. Many of the “extras” that can be provided to teachers are paid for from this account. Field trips to places that charge admission, special events performances, gifts for outstanding students and teachers, transportation costs for some interscholastic events, clothing for children in need, and other beneficial extras are not a big problem for your middle school. There always seems to be an adequate amount of money in the Activity Fund. With adequate preplanning, there are few extras that cannot be provided. Until now, that is.

Your middle school has an enrollment of 925 students, most of whom come from homes of modest means. About 65 percent of the young people receive free or reduced-price school lunch. Many participate in your breakfast program.

The problem is a decided movement in the larger school community to reconsider the machine sale of snack foods and soft drinks. Some children avoid the regular lunch and fill up on snack foods. Moreover, with increasing concern about poor diets and obesity of young people, feelings about getting rid of the temptations of snack foods and sugary soft drinks are running high. It is clear that a decision is about to be made at the central-office level to discontinue the practice in all schools.

Under current conditions, your Activity Fund will not survive this lack of income, because the main source—probably as much as 85 percent of the money—comes from sales of snack food and soft drinks. Your students need the extras that the fund provides. But, of course, good sense indicates that the source of this money is not the best.

So, what are you going to do?

Case 7: Which Textbook Will It Be?

You are the principal of a middle school, grades 6 through 9, and there is a need to review the social studies series currently in use. You have a strong opinion that the current series does not adequately depict the contributions made by minorities and women. Because your own teaching field is social studies, you have more than a casual interest in and knowledge about the issue. The social studies department seems split on the matter. Two teachers do not want to use any text at all, several teachers are satisfied with the current text, and three others favor at least two other series. The board requires one adopted text series but does permit supplemental works when it can be shown that there is good reason to do so. It is now January; a recommendation is due in the central office one month from today.

The chairperson of the department is undecided on the matter and requests that you “do something.” A review of staff evaluations reveals that one of the teachers who wants no text at all is among the top-rated teachers in the school. She is unhappy with the more conservative posture of many of her colleagues and has indicated that unless a more positive stand on the multicultural nature of society is taken by the department, she will go elsewhere. A cause célèbre looms.

ISLLC 7, 8

ISLLC 3, 10, 11

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management 365

Case 8: The Banquet or the Test or Both?

You are the principal of Douglas Edward High School, which has an enrollment of 850. It’s 5:00 p.m. but before leaving for home this day, you review the mail that came in much earlier in the day, which you have only just now time to sit down and read. One letter is disturbing. It is from a person who is ordinarily supportive of what goes on at the school.

Dear [You]: This evening, my daughter, Grace, was forced to make a difficult choice between pre-

paring for an unannounced test or attending the Spring Sports Banquet. Whether she should forego the banquet and the recognition of the school and her peers—she was elected captain and most valuable player—is not my concern for writing, however. I am bothered that the school, through lack of planning, puts students in this situation.

Students are encouraged to participate in sports and other activities sponsored by the school. Yet, it then punishes them for that participation by failing to recognize what the pressure to do well on tests can cause and scheduling conflicting evening activities without regard to academic matters.

My daughter made an effort to learn what was upcoming in her classes on last Thursday. She was going to be absent on Friday because of attending a district student leadership conference and didn’t want to miss an assignment. No mention was made of the tests. Yet on Monday four of her teachers indicated they would be giving grade-period- ending examinations on Thursday. The banquet is scheduled for Tuesday evening. Four major tests in one day are bad enough. But having these occur the day after a sponsored evening event is ridiculous. My daughter decided not to go to the banquet.

You don’t need to answer this letter but you do need to be aware that I am not the only parent who is bothered by this lack of planning.

Sincerely,

(Mrs.) Cynthia Norris

Information for the reader: The banquet was planned for two days before the tests. The athletic director is new. The teachers in question are experienced. The grading period ended a few days after the tests were given. Grace is a struggling student who often just manages to stay eligible to participate in the organized sports programs, despite a strong effort to do her schoolwork.

What action do you take?

Case 9: The New Photocopier

Losses in enrollments because of population shifts and an eroding tax base have resulted in deep budget cuts. You, as the principal, must trim all nonessential expenditures. You have decided to investigate whether your office needs the large, fast, highly flexible copier currently in use. It could be replaced with any of a number of cheaper machines on the market; a substan- tial cost savings would be effected. You have the specifications for both the current and the

ISLLC 8, 6

ISLLC 6, 8, 11

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

366 A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management

smaller machines and the salespersons have advised you of the various features of each, including fidelity of reproduction, copies per minute, number of copies collated (if at all), and other features. Other useful information is readily available from your staff as well as the busi- ness office.

It is clear that your support staff prefers the current machine, some outspokenly so. They are not as concerned as you are about costs and are well aware of the many advantages the cur- rent machine has in making their own workload easier. Moreover, if you had a smaller machine installed, there would be the need to improvise on some of the larger jobs or, from time to time, to take work over to the district office. Some of the staff could make life more difficult for you by making up reasons to take work “downtown.” It would not be possible to develop a policy to fit every contingency, so you would either be in position of constantly monitoring the reproduc- tion tasks or of running the risk of flagrant misuse of the district’s equipment, which would be charged against your operating budget, as well as a waste of time for some of your support staff.

Nevertheless, even though they will all be affected, the staff members know that a substan- tial amount of money is involved. Most also believe that making these kinds of decisions is what you are being paid for.

Case 10: How Safe Is the School?

You are the principal of an urban high school. Numerous break-ins and incidents of violence have characterized several of the high schools in the district. Your high school is one of these. The window breakage alone in the district required $375,000 for repairs last year. Beyond this, the costs for repainting and other building repairs exceeded national averages by far.

Teachers are complaining that they do not feel safe, and some parents complain that their children have had money extorted from them by other “students” on their way to and from school as well as on the school grounds. Also, within recent months, there was a parking lot incident in which a teacher was shot at by an unidentified youth.

The restroom walls always seem to need cleaning; spray-painted scatology abounds in the restrooms and on sidewalks. School equipment doesn’t seem to last long—it breaks or it disappears.

And now, an enterprising news team from a local TV station has started a well-watched series “How Safe Are Our Schools?”

Case 11: Mrs. Davis Is a Bad Teacher

You are the principal of Ubben Elementary School, a prekindergarten through grade 5 school with a population of 530. It is nearly the end of the school day and you are reviewing your mail. A letter from a parent captures your attention. It reads as follows:

Dear Principal, Assistant Principal, and School Board: My husband and I, as parents of a third-grader and a fourth-grader at Ubben Elementary,

would like to bring to your attention some problems in Mrs. Davis’s class. Our daughter Rebecca is in Mrs. Davis’s third grade. In the past few weeks, our conversations with

ISLLC 6

ISLLC 2, 3, 4

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management 367

Rebecca have turned up some disturbing facts about Mrs. Davis’s interactions with her students. Among other things that Rebecca reports are the following: The entire class is denied recess if any one child misbehaves. Mrs. Davis repeatedly tells her students that they are “dumb,” “stupid,” “ignorant fools,” and that their behavior is much worse “than her two-year-old.”

We concede that an eight-year-old’s perceptions can be very different from those of an adult—after all, missing recess on several occasions for something you didn’t do is very upsetting for an eight-year-old. However, I have sat in on Mrs. Davis’s class and have observed her behavior in the classroom. On one occasion, she and the class were returning from lunch and some of the children were talking and moving about, which I think is nor- mal for eight-year-olds. She yelled at the children to sit down and then screamed, waving her arms. Everyone sat down. As an adult, I was frightened. Can you imagine what an eight-year-old would feel? If she demonstrated that kind of behavior while I was present, I can’t imagine how she is when she is alone with the children. We also have evidence of unfair grading practices.

We are requesting that Rebecca be transferred out of Mrs. Davis’s class immediately. This, of course, is only a partial solution—it won’t solve the problem for the rest of the class. There is a complete lack of a positive learning climate.

Verbal abuse is just as destructive as physical abuse. We have always had a high regard for the district and we are shocked that someone like Mrs. Davis could be employed. Surely others have complained.

We would like to hear from you immediately.

Sincerely,

David and Lori Hughes

Case 12: Dress Code Violated

You are principal of a suburban high school with an enrollment of 1,300 students in grades 10 through 12. There is a dress code approved by the student council and a faculty advisory group.

Four students, new to the school, appear in your office one morning in September. They have been sent to the office by their homeroom teacher. The three girls are dressed in long “dresses” and are wearing burkas. The boy has a light beard, just beginning to sprout and become dark, and also wears a “cap.” Facial hair is not permitted in the school and neither are hats during class times inside the building.

The students are unhappy about being sent to the office for their dress and appearance. They complain that the dress code is contrary to Muslim practice and that they are being subject to unfair discrimination.

Now you understand the call-back note on your desk from the parents of one of the stu- dents confronting you in your office.

So, there you sit with four upset students, a dress code that your teachers and most of the students support, facing a charge of religious intolerance.

What do you do immediately? What is your following plan?

ISLLC 7, 8, 9

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

368 A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management

Case 13: Back to the Basics

You are the principal of a large junior high school. Your school system is on a back-to-the-basics mode, reflecting the outspoken criticism of several board members and their constituencies. This, coupled with a new educational reform bill passed in the state legislature, is having a negative effect on your district’s highly successful prevocational education program and, to a significant degree, on the fine arts program. Your school has achieved special state recognition for its efforts and achievements in both. Nevertheless, the school board has decided that prevo- cational education should be eliminated and has reduced the budget amounts to be spent dis- trictwide in the fine arts to the barest of minimums.

You are now faced with school counselors, teachers, and parents who are very concerned about the demise of the prevocational education and physical education programs. School coun- selors are concerned that the career counseling load will now fall on them.

Complicating the matter is what to do about the current full-time career counselor. She relates very well to adolescents and has been able to “turn tough kids around.” Parents are sup- portive as well. Her teaching fields are history and Latin. Latin has not been offered in years at your school and the history department “runneth over.” You would hate to lose this fine teacher.

The parents are upset on several counts, not the least of which is the lack of attention to the fine arts program and physical education.

Your superintendent is waiting for your staffing plan and budget proposals for next year. These are due in two weeks.

Case 14: A Parent Complains; The Teacher Doesn’t Respond

You are the principal of John Harrison Elementary School, which has 700 students. A telephone call has been referred to you from a parent with the following story:

Her third-grade son is failing in science. She wants to know how to help him, but despite two notes to his teacher, the parent has not received a response. What should she do? You recom- mended that she make another contact. The parent was in the school doing some volunteer work today and you asked if she had received any response from the teacher. She said no. You placed a query in the teacher’s school mailbox asking about the situation.

The following day the teacher comes storming into your office. “I have been ill and out of school last week and am only now just back from that absence. Now, you’re sending me a note about not contacting a parent. I sent an announcement to all parents at the first of the year about the days and times when I am available for conferences. Let her come in or call me during those times! I can’t be responding on every occasion to notes from parents.”

What are your actions now?

Case 15: Welcome: Please Change Janie’s Teacher

You are the new principal of Selter Elementary School. It’s the third day of school and you’ve had a reasonably smooth opening. Selter is a large elementary school (average daily attendance = 790)

ISLLC 3, 4, 8

ISLLC 2, 3, 4

ISLLC 3, 8, 9

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management 369

and houses grades 1 through 5. Your predecessor retired after a 30-year career in the district and is now enjoying the fruits of a successful tenure. She is on a world-spanning vacation after which she will relocate in a small town some distance away.

You are reviewing your mail and come across a letter from the president of the PTO, whom you have met but once, briefly, at a preschool opening reception. She welcomes you in her first couple of lines and then turns to another subject. The final paragraph of the letter reads:

“Oh yes, I am not happy with Janie’s class assignment. You have placed her with a Level I teacher—a Miss Burket. Lovely person, so young and pleasant. But Janie requires some special help, as I’m sure you’ve seen from her records. Certainly a novice is ill- prepared to deal with this. I know you have a number of Level II teachers but I especially admire Dr. Norris who is a Level III “Master Teacher.” Janie and I were most disap- pointed that she was not assigned to her class. Your predecessor had indicated that this would be done. Could you arrange for Janie to be placed with Dr. Norris, please? Thank you very much.”

Case 16: We Object!

You are the principal of a high school (grades 9 through 12) with an enrollment of 1,500. It is mid-November. You have been at a statewide professional meeting for the past three days and have just returned to your office. The letter below is among other first-class mail that you find in your in-box. The letter arrived on Monday; today is Thursday.

Dear Principal: We, John and Grace Michael, request that our daughter Heather be dismissed from her

fifth-period class, Health, for the remainder of the semester. We are basing our decision on the fact that materials used in the classroom and methods of teaching are in complete dis- harmony with the values and beliefs we have tried to implement in our home. At such a vulnerable time in their lives, it is difficult, at best, for young people to be strong in the beliefs they have been taught and then stand up against the pressure of their peers. But it’s something the youth of today face on a daily basis and we parents, as a collective group, hope and pray that our youth make the right choices and develop a stronger character because of those choices.

But when the adults who have a direct influence on our child, through teaching, begin to promote a value system that has been rejected in our home, just consider the impact on our child (or any other) and how it will affect the decision-making process when that young person is once again faced with peer pressure.

During a recent conversation with Ms. Blackstone and Ms. Weaver, it was interesting to us how we were told repeatedly that teachers cannot tell students what is right and what is wrong; they must choose for themselves. Yet, in the same conversation, we were told that because many students have sex and many students drink, it is okay to teach “safe sex” and “responsible drinking.” If this isn’t at the very least a contradiction, then certainly you must agree that it is a compromise in values. As it has become obvious to us, it must also be obvious to you that we simply do not agree with the standards being practiced and

ISLLC 10

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

370 A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management

taught. It is at this point that we have reached the conclusion that Heather should be removed from this course.

Sincerely yours,

John and Grace Michael

Case 17: Mike Is the Best You Have

Mike Flynn is your best mathematics teacher. His students always excel and he doesn’t always get the best students to begin with. His classes range from Algebra I to a special advanced place- ment group in concepts well beyond calculus and differential equations. Parents of all students are highly supportive of Flynn. Moreover, he is frequently used by the district as an in-service training leader.

For as long as anyone can remember, Mike has had first period as his planning period. He comes to school late every morning because of his avocation, which is raising roses and doing other kinds of hybrid gardening. “Early morning hours work best for this,” he says, “especially for watering, pruning, and fertilizing.”

You are Mike’s new principal. Two teachers have come to you within the past few days, each complaining of the favoritism being shown Mr. Flynn. They have asked why they cannot leave school during their planning period to tend to their personal business. Also, they have fur- ther suggested that first-period-off privileges should be extended to everyone. “Nobody else gets to do this,” they say.

Case 18: Write Your Legislators

You are the principal of James Burket Middle School, a school that now has an enrollment of 1,225 students. This morning, among other phone calls, three calls have been about a similar subject. One was from the superintendent, one was from a member of the school board, and one was from a local state legislator. All were either complaining about or reporting an assignment apparently made by one of your social studies teachers. The assignment was for each student to write a highly charged letter to an identified legislator or the governor about proposed cuts to state school financing; the cuts would include reduced health-care benefits and less state aid for teacher salaries.

You investigate and discover that, in fact, the teacher made such an assignment. Further investigation indicates that the teacher arranged for the mailings but did not read the letters and that the students had been “coached” on the issues about which to write. The legislator produced copies of the letters he had received. These were not badly written but the authors were very firm in their statements about the injustices that would be done by reduced funding. Many students pleaded with legislators to spare field trips, to better fund textbooks, and to save teachers’ sala- ries from the ax of budget cutters.

The school board member insists that the teacher has violated the school system’s standard of professional conduct. Some others on the board agree. The legislator seems less bothered of

ISLLC 6

ISLLC 2, 4, 8, 9

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management 371

all but is curious, in his words, about “what is being taught in social studies these days.” The local newspaper has picked up on the story and has it featured in its well-read “What’s Happening in Our City” section.

The teacher, to this point in his career, has an unblemished record. In fact, just two years ago, he won the districtwide best teacher award. His annual job reviews have always been good to outstanding.

Several board members ultimately indicate they think the teacher should be dismissed for unprofessional conduct.

The superintendent has asked for your recommendation. What is your recommendation and on what basis do you make this recommendation?

Case 19: I Wish I Was Dead

You are the principal of a prekindergarten through grade 5 elementary school with an enroll- ment of 530. It is 10.00 a.m. and you have just returned from a morning tour of the building. You are reviewing mail, memos, and notes from various staff that have accumulated since late yesterday afternoon when you were attending an all-district administrators’ meeting at the central office.

Among other things, there is a short note from one of your fifth-grade teachers, written the afternoon before. It reads: “I thought you ought to see this.” Stapled to the note is a piece of tab- let paper containing the last part of an essay by one of her students, a boy named Timmy. The assigned topic for the essay was “My Favorite Things.” Timmy’s essay concludes, “. . . but I’ll never get to have these things. Sometimes I wish I was dead. Sometimes I want to kill myself.”

Case 20: Who Gets the Money?

You are the principal of Kevin Arthur Middle School. The school has an enrollment of 950 students in grades 5 through 8. Most of the students are Anglo (86 percent) with some African American and a few Asian students. As principal, you are the chief fiscal officer of the school, although you do have a well-trained bookkeeper. It is budget development time and the district office has requested your budget proposals for next year within two weeks. As usual, departmental requests have exceeded the possibilities. You would be disappointed if that did not happen because it is an indication that the staff is ambitious. But there are some tough choices to be made between departments, thousands of dollars at stake, and some fac- ulty will be unhappy.

Two departments—English and science—are requesting new computer programs that are very expensive. The athletic department insists that its equipment needs have increased because of a new foray into interscholastic lacrosse and an expanded effort in football for the sixth- graders. This influences staffing as well as equipment. A fourth aspect of your program, the library, insists that two more paraprofessionals are needed, and the library’s new book proposals are about double the request for last year. A greater emphasis on multicultural works is part of this increase in needs.

You have two weeks to complete your proposal. You decide . . .

ISLLC 5, 9

ISLLC 8

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

372 A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management

Case 21: Gun in the School

You are the assistant principal of Ubben High School, a school with an enrollment of 1,500 stu- dents. Ubben has a multiethnic student body and is located in a small city. It’s Friday.

Two students approach you during second period and say a girl has brought a gun to school because she wants to scare a boy who continues to sexually harass her. The girl is in a class on the second floor; the student who allegedly has been harassing her is not in that class. The bell to change classes will ring in 15 minutes.

Case 22: Late Practice

You are a junior high school principal. A parent has just come in to discuss an issue concerning her 13-year-old daughter, Ashley Jane. She is complaining about the girl’s basketball coach. Apparently, he has been giving special after-practice instruction to her daughter and to two other ninth-grade girls, although not on the same days. He meets with these students after the rest of the team has been dismissed.

The parent indicates that several times Ashley Jane has arrived late for dinner. The parent relates, “The coach always drives her home, but the time will frequently be as much as half an hour after we have started our evening meal. Last evening she arrived late, again, but this time she had been crying.”

She would not tell her parent what the difficulty was, saying only, “I wasn’t good enough.” The parent assumed she was talking about her playing ability and let the matter go while offering a comforting word or two.

Later, the parent noticed that her daughter’s T-shirt was torn, so her suspicions were height- ened. “What is he doing with these girls?” she asks. The parents of her daughter’s two friends were of no help. Their daughters had been home by dinnertime even after the late practices.

As principal, you decide . . . What other actions, if any, will you take?

Case 23: Who Gets the Job?

You are the principal of Whisler Elementary School, a six-grade school with a preschool pro- gram and an extended day schedule. It’s April and you have just completed interviewing teach- ers for positions next fall. Each of the prospective teachers you have interviewed has already met with a committee of teachers and been recommended for further consideration. This committee has rated the candidates either 4 or 5 on a list of persons with whom they would be happy to be colleagues. (Candidates are rated on a 5-point scale, with 5 being the highest rating.) You will have only one vacancy for a fifth-grade spot for which three individuals are qualified. Two of these have received ratings of 4s and 5s—and those are very good ratings. The third candidate has a rating of 5 from all the teachers.

In your mind, the best choice is a young, single mother with two children of elementary school age. This is also the person that the teachers have rated most highly. One troubling fact is that the teacher has her children enrolled in a local school sponsored by a fundamentalist church.

ISLLC 2

ISLLC 5, 8

ISLLC 6, 8, 9

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management 373

She has expressed firm unwillingness to transfer these children to Whisler or to any public school in the district. You learn, as well, that other administrators and teachers have grave reservations about the quality of the school to which the applicant sends her children. There is also a general expectation in the community that teachers and administrators should have their own children enrolled in the local public schools.

You must make your staffing recommendations to the central office by the end of the week. It is now Tuesday.

Case 24: More Fights

“He called me the ‘N’ word,” shouted the 12-year-old boy. “Did not,” said the other boy, an Anglo youngster a year older and several inches taller. “You’re always lookin’ for trouble and you’re always crying prejudice. Even the teachers are sick of it.” The boys lunge at each other but are held back. They have been brought to the office by two of your teachers who remain in the room.

“What happened?” you ask the teachers. “We weren’t there until after the fight started, so we have no idea what happened.”

It is just one more fight among your junior high students. Even the girls are squaring off with each other. And, mostly—but not always—it seems to have racial or ethnic overtones.

You are the new principal of Joy Phillips Junior High, a new school in the county and a school where about half of the students are bused in to a magnet program. The student popula- tion is diverse—economically and ethnically.

You think about your next steps, first with these students and then with the problems the school seems to be confronted with in regard to the student population.

Case 25: Students Are “Hanging Around” in the Shops

You are the principal of Barton Herrscher High School, a school with grades 10 through 12 and an enrollment of 1,350 students. The students are mostly from middle-class to upper-middle- class homes in a neighborhood community that is considered to be “well off.” It is late afternoon and you are reviewing the mail of the day. You have just read a letter from the president of the local affiliate of the Chamber of Commerce. It reads as follows:

Dear [You]: I’ve been asked by our public relations committee to write you about what they see as

a developing problem involving some students from your school. For the past few months, we have become aware of a large number of teenagers congregating in various mall stores. The proprietors of the theatre and two stop-and-shop stores are particularly bothered, although other merchants have also indicated concern. The police have been notified on several occasions about rowdy behavior and even some drinking of alcoholic beverages. (We think drugs have also been involved.) The police have been helpful in moving larger groups of kids out of certain areas but the kids don’t stay away very long. Lately, some of our merchants have reported an increase in shoplifting.

ISLLC 8

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

374 A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management

Now, we don’t know if the young people are all your students. Some may be from other communities, but we do need your help because many of the kids are students of Herrscher High. They wear letter jackets and other identifying clothes.

This is serious. We’ve always been very supportive of school activities, but this is get- ting out of control. Will you help us? What do you suggest? We would be glad to meet with you as soon as you can.

Sincerely,

Patricia Holland, President Winstead Chamber of Commerce

What is your action?

Case 26: Why Can’t Graceilla Go to College?

The school year has just begun. You are in your first year as principal of Wilford Weber Senior High School. Weber has an enrollment of 1,465 students who are 70 percent Anglo, 20 percent African American, and nearly 10 percent Latino—largely immigrants from Central American nations. A small percent of Asians also compose the population. The Anglos rep- resent a range of income levels, the African Americans are also mixed, and the Latinos mostly are struggling day workers living in low-cost public housing. It’s late Friday after- noon and you are finally getting around to the mail. One handwritten letter in particular catches your attention.

Dear [You]: We are new to Weber High School and to this community. So far, we have been happy

with Weber and the teachers, but now our daughter Graceilla is having difficulty. This is her third high school in the past two years. But now, it seems we have made the last of our moves and Graceilla will finish at Weber.

A few days ago she came home quite upset because of a conference she had with Mr. Fossey, her guidance counselor. Mr. Fossey had just told her that she needed to give up her interest in going on to college because of her low grade-point average. Probably Graceilla has had difficulty because of all of our moves. We moved a lot when she was in grade school, too. But she is determined to improve and likes all of her teachers. She is moti- vated! Or at least she was until the meeting with Mr. Fossey.

We don’t think people like Mr. Fossey should be discouraging students this way. This seems to us to be a very bad attitude for counseling people to have—especially with new kids. Will you tell us what, if anything, you will do about this very bad situation?

Sincerely yours,

Carol Barritta What action will you take?

ISLLC 2, 5

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management 375

Case 27: Zero Tolerance

Background. You are the principal of Howard L. Jones High School with an enrollment of 1,475 students. The makeup of the student body is 55 percent Anglo, 20 percent African American, 20 percent Latino, and 5 percent Asian. This is quite a change from last year, brought about because of a new school building and a realignment of attendance boundaries. “It’s a real mixed group,” says one of your colleagues during the first week of the school year. Last year 90 percent of the students were Anglo.

Your district has a zero-tolerance policy with regard to drugs, weapons, and violence. It reads in part: “The student shall not be in possession of any prohibited weapon at any school or any school function.”

“Weapons” are defined (in part): “Prohibited weapons are defined as follows: 1. A firearm [and the policy goes on as firearms are described], 2. An illegal knife as defined by law (knife with 5 inches or more, or a hand instrument designed to cut or stab another . . .) or by local policy.” (The state penal code is then cited.) And the policy goes on through four more items listing various weapons and dimensions. It ends with the statement “or any other object used in a way that threatens or inflicts bodily injury to another person.”

Drugs are defined in the policy with the statements: “A student may be expelled or at least sent to the Behavioral Care High School for a semester if while on school property or attending a school-sponsored activity on or off school property if the student 1. Sells, gives, or delivers to another person any amount of marijuana or a controlled substance as defined by 21 U.S.C. Section 801 et seq.; or a dangerous drug otherwise defined in the State Safety Code or . . .” and the policy goes on. The penalty is immediate assignment to the Behavior Care High School for one semester.

School-district policy is clear on disciplinary procedures with regard to students with dis- abilities: “Students with disabilities may be disciplined in the same manner as nondisabled stu- dents.” And the policy goes on to describe the kinds of discipline open to the administrator. These include suspension and assignment to a special school for disruptive students. In your district that school is the Behavioral Care High School.

Situation. Two students sit in the outside office. Two different teachers have sent them. One student an African American girl, a senior, who was discovered taking a pill that she says is an antiallergy medication. It is in a plain metal pillbox. There is no note in her file that she is under a physician’s care. The other student, a 16-year-old Anglo boy, is enrolled in the school’s pro- gram for students with ADHD. His teacher discovered that the boy was carrying a long, slim, nail file—about five inches long—in his front pocket. It had been sharpened.

What actions do you take?

Case 28: Test Travesty

You are in your office preparing notes for an address you have been asked to give to the School Advisory Council and a neighborhood meeting. The address is to be about the testing program in your state. The testing program has been induced by the No Child Left Behind acts of the U.S. Congress. Schools are certified in your state depending on how much improvement is shown in the way students perform on the annual test. The test for high school juniors is scheduled for next week.

ISLLC 5, 8, 9

ISLLC 2, 4, 8, 9

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

376 A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management

The local newspaper today is featuring a column by a popular political reporter who has just visited one of the other schools in your district. His remarks are damning with regard to the preparation teachers are making for students taking the tests. He reports about a review sheet one of the history teachers is using. (It had been left for a substitute teacher who is drilling students for the test.)

In part, the review sheet states in its first three statements: “If it is a question about the Revolutionary War, the answer is George Washington or Thomas Jefferson. If the question is about the women’s rights movement, the answer would be Susan B. Anthony. If the question is about a civil rights leader, the answer is likely Martin Luther King.” The review sheet goes on for three more pages with dates and definitions spelled out. The newspaper reporter ends the article by stating that the sheet “presents a reflecting pool of U.S. history a centimeter deep and 200 years wide, filled with murky water.” The reporter ends his column by asking about the nature of education in the local schools. “What are we doing to these kids?” he asks.

The chairperson of your School Advisory Council has just stopped in to discuss the article. “Please address this issue in your remarks to the council and the guests this evening. Teachers surely are not doing this sort of thing, are they?” He then leaves your office and the school.

You ask your history teacher about the list. He remarks, “The truth is I hated the feeling that I had to make that list that reviews material the students had in the eighth grade. It’s not a reflection of my teaching, but it is an aid to those students who need last-minute help. This test has serious implications to our school and to evaluations of my teaching effectiveness.” He goes on to lament the negative effect of the state’s reliance on such tests for the evaluation of school effectiveness. You ask him, “Is everybody doing this?” His reply: “Everybody I know.”

You return to your notes to get ready for your talk tonight. Your notes are as follows . . .

Case 29: Where Should the Money Go?

You are the principal of a large high school. Booker T. Washington is almost a leftover from the days of racial discrimination. Most of the 2,800 students come from the nearby projects. Even though you have a magnet program in the fine arts, few potential Anglo or Latino students elect to come to the school. There are no Asian students, either. So, even the magnet program has a large African American population. The issue before you at this time is not racial balance of the students, however. It is faculty assignments.

Your school population is growing at the rate of 50 or so per year and an increased recruitment effort on the part of the magnet coordinator is paying off. There are sufficient per- sonnel funds for three new positions, but there is a lot of discord about what those positions should be. The fine arts department insists it must add a staff member. The science department needs a specialist in physics. Your music department wants to add a person experienced in strings. The English department has two persons about to retire and has demonstrated the need for two additions. Your football team has been successful and the athletic director has threat- ened to resign unless he is given two more coaches. (Coaches have only a half-time instruc- tional load.)

So, there you are. Budget proposal sessions are coming up. The district office wants your recommendations in three weeks. You have a personnel committee that functions only irregu- larly and that has members who rarely agree. You do have some flexibility. All or part of your

ISLLC 8, 6, 8, 10

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management 377

personnel budget may be expended for instructional aides. An aide costs about half the salary of a certificated teacher.

What is your approach to this problem?

Case 30: Fire Her and I’m Going to the Board!

You are one of two assistant principals in an urban junior high school. The enrollment is 1,100 students and is mixed racially and ethnically. You’ve been with the district for four years and have just applied for a principalship in a new junior high school just about to be opened in the district. You are on the short list.

One of your current responsibilities is the supervision of instructional aides. Supervision includes systematic evaluation and a written annual review of performance. You have just recommended the dismissal of an aide who assists in a seventh-grade alternative class for stu- dents with ADHD. Recommendations about employment have been sent out to all personnel during the past two weeks. The particular aide disputed your charges of incompetence and appealed to the principal. The principal rejected the appeal, citing the evidence you had pro- vided in the file. That evidence included reports of three occasions earlier in the school year when you met with the teacher to discuss the aide’s weak attendance and insufficient handling of poor behavior on the part of a student. The teacher who was working with the aide was not of much help to you and he, himself, has been recommended by the principal for transfer to another assignment next year.

The aide is an Anglo female who has been with the district four years but at your school just one year. Her previous evaluations have not been high, but no one has recommended termi- nation before this year.

Today, you were visited by a parent of one of the students in the alternative class. She is unhappy about the aide’s termination notice. She is a leader in the school community and an African American who has actively supported the election of two school board members. She is irritated when you tell her that the teacher’s appeal to the principal has been denied. You are being “unfair,” she says.

There is time for you to withdraw your recommendation. The board has not met yet. Your principal has indicated her support for whatever you decide to do. She does not seem troubled by the incident and, apparently, would not be bothered if the aide returned for another year. Aides are difficult to find. The pay is not high.

So, you have a couple of days to think about the issue. What do you decide to do?

Case 31: What Next for Billy?

You are an assistant principal of a junior high school with an enrollment of 1,100. An aspect of your responsibilities is to chair special education admission, review, and dismissal meetings (ARD) in compliance with legal requirements when educational programs and actions for disa- bled students are to be established. These students include those who are emotionally disturbed.

Billy is the subject of the agenda today. Billy has a history of being disruptive in schools and he has once again come to your attention. He takes a medication for hyperactivity but

ISSLC 5, 8, 10

ISLLC 2, 3, 8, 10

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

378 A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management

recently it seems to have diminishing effects. His behavior, according to teachers, has been getting progressively worse. Billy is now scheduled to be in a self-contained classroom each school day.

In your school’s regular program, most students who are in attendance are “normal” ado- lescents and go to the usual classes. So, Billy and his emotionally disturbed colleagues do have opportunities to interact with and attend some classes with the normal student body—usually physical education and art classes. Also, there are opportunities in after-school events and in the cafeteria at lunch times.

Regardless of the situation, Billy simply does not get along well. He fights, bites, and scratches his fellow students and screams at teachers and other students alike.

The intermediate service unit to which your school district belongs has just opened a cen- trally housed unit for the emotionally disturbed. You mention this possibility to Billy’s parents and they object strongly. “You will turn Billy into a hoodlum! He’ll only become worse. Why can’t you manage this in your own school?” Both parents want Billy mainstreamed into the regular program “as IDEA requires,” they say. A lawsuit is threatened. The parents go on to state that Billy’s teacher is “against Billy” and they insist that their child be removed immediately from his current assignment.

Midterm ARD meetings are being scheduled to begin next week. Billy is due for a mid- term review.

What actions will you take? What legal bases will guide you?

Case 32: Why Can’t I Play?

One of your responsibilities as one of two assistant principals is to manage the student activities programs in the freshman and sophomore classes. That involves more than 700 students. Another assignment is administering the school’s athletic program. Your plate is full.

You are sitting at your desk at the end of a long day and the freshman football coach comes in. “You’ve got to help,” he says. “Two girls showed up at our first practice this afternoon and asked for gear and uniforms.” He goes on, “I’m not going to have girls playing on the football team. I sent them home.”

The coach leaves the office. Your phone rings. It is the parent of one of the girls. He is unhappy and curious about why his daughter cannot play football.

■ You tell the parent . . . ■ You tell the coach . . .

On what do you base your actions?

Case Study 33: Cell Phones

An angry parent storms past the outer desk and into your office amid the protest of your secretary. Her complaint has to do with an action of one of your teachers. “He took, it away,”

she shouts. “He took her cell phone away and says he won’t give it back until the year is

ISLLC 8, 10

ISLLC 8

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management 379

over.” You calm the parent down over her protests that her daughter carries the phone so she can advise her mother when to pick her up from soccer practice and, importantly, for emergencies.

You promise to investigate the issue right away. The teacher tells you that the girl uses the cell phone for texting and for talking to other

students during the school day. Frequently, she does not pay attention in class because of text messages. She sends and she receives these while class is going on.

So the teacher’s response has been to confiscate the device. She does not want texting in her class and does not want cell phones or other such electronic devices interfering with her teaching.

What are you going to tell the mother? And what are you going to tell the teacher? What are the school policies? What should the school policies be?

Case Study 34: The Dress Code Is Violated

You are principal in a suburban high school with an enrollment of 1,300 students in grades 10 through 12. There is a dress code approved by the student council and a faculty advisory group.

The students are unhappy about being sent to the office for their dress and appearance. They complain that the dress code is contrary to Muslim practice they are being subject unfair discrimination.

This also may explain the “call-back” on your desk from one of the parents of a youngster now confronting you in your office

So, there you sit with four upset students, a dress code that your teachers and most of the students support, facing a charge of religious intolerance.

You immediately . . . You follow this up by . . .

Case Study 35: Over the Line?

The enrollment of your school is 1,400 students in grades 10 through 12. One of the courses offered for elective credit is a course about religious studies. You note that the focus of the course seems to be the Christian Bible. Four citizens have arranged a meeting in your office to discuss concerns they have about the subject matter. They note that recent discussions have focused on such topics as the pros and cons of different theories regarding when Christians, will be “raptured” into “Heaven,” a discussion of racial groups tracing their origins back to Noah’s three sons, a discussion that God cut off his relationship with Jews because they rejected Jesus, and similar topics.

ISLLC 8

ISLLC 3, 7, 8, 10

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

380 A P P E N D I X A / Case Studies in School Leadership and Management

A Summary of the Meeting with the Parents

They are not objecting to a course that examines the various religions of the world, the parents related, but it seemed to them that the particular teacher of this course was preaching a Christian dogma rather than exploring the similarities and differences of various religious groups. “This is a public school,” one remarked.

1. How do you respond to the allegation that the teacher was “overstepping” in his teaching about religions?

2. What position do you take on the inclusion of a course on “religious studies?” 3. What role do you believe parents have in determining aspects of the curriculum?

Case 36: What Do We Want Our School to Become?

It is now late in the fall at Scott Larry Middle School described previously in Case 4. You have survived the opening of school and even received some praise for the three day staff in-service program you quickly organized upon your arrival last summer. The faculty seemed appreciative of the time you gave them to get better acquainted with each other and meet in their teaching teams.

Your superintendent has now thrown you a new challenge. He is in his second year having come to your district from a smaller school district out of state. He seems to have good ideas and wants all of the schools in the district to improve. He is now asking that each principal of the twenty schools in the district develop a plan to review and/or develop a new vision and mission document for their school. He has indicated that he would like to have the completed plan of action as to how you will proceed on his desk ready for his review by the end of the fall semester (Step 1), and a new vision/mission/goals plan completed by the end of the school year (Step 2). There has not yet been opportunity for the principals to get together to share ideas.

Upon searching the files left by your predecessors, you find only a mission and goals state- ment from seven years ago when your school applied for accreditation. Only a couple of teachers now on your staff remembered the document. Given the demographics of your school (Case #4), how will you proceed? How can you involve the community? How do you engage your staff and faculty? How do you make it meaningful?

Develop your plan of action (Step 1) for the development of a vision/ mission/goals docu- ment to submit to your superintendent.ISLLC 8

ISLLC 1, 11

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

381

I N D E X

A Ability

achievement and, 130–131 individual differences in, 129

Ability grouping. See also Achievement grouping; Grouping strategies in elementary and middle schools, 139–140 function of, 139 in high schools, 142 research on, 140–141

Academic achievement. See Student achievement Academic curriculum. See also Curriculum

approaches to, 112 controversial, 333 criticism of, 112 explanation of, 110 purpose of, 111–112 role of principal in, 112 role of teacher in, 112

Academic learning time (ALT), 149, 244 Accountability

criterion-referenced tests and, 137–138 data-driven decision making and, 138 federal testing initiatives and, 131–132 No Child Left Behind and, 131–132, 334 norm-referenced tests and, 132–137 student achievement and, 131–137

Accounting of activity and other funds, 284–286 audits and, 285 explanation of, 271 for financial resources at school site, 279–284 regular review of, 284

Accreditation Standards, 68 Achievement. See Student achievement Achievement grouping, 251–252. See also Ability grouping Achievement test analysis, 316 Achievement tests. See Criterion-referenced tests; Norm-referenced tests Achilles, C. M., 97 Action-based research, 190 Action learning

explanation of, 116 guidelines for, 117–118 programs for, 116–117

Action Learning Center, 117 Action plans

example of, 79 function of, 76 generation of, 79 goal, 79 operation of, 81 problem analysis for, 76–78 project planning document for, 80 target dates for, 81

Activity funds accounting for, 284–286 explanation of, 272

ADA. See Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) Adequate yearly progress (AYP), 131, 132, 137 ADHD. See Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Administrator education blogs, 307–308 AdvancED, 58, 68 AdvancED Staff and Student Satisfaction Surveys, 58 Advisement program, 102, 103 Advisor-advisee systems, 100–102, 104 Advisors, 103, 231 Alderfer, C. P., 29 Alternate-day schedules, 254–255 American Library Association (ALA), 331 American School Counselors Association, 100 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 161, 208 Antibullying laws, 99 Apple, M., 115 Argyris, C., 11, 12 Aristotle, 42 Assessment. See also Tests/testing

functional behavior, 171 needs, 62–64 staff development, 189 value-added, 134–137

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), 169 Audits, 271 Avolio, B., 18, 48

B Bass, B., 10, 18 Behavior, student, 92, 903 Beliefs

of principals, 33–34 vision and, 65

Belief statements, 66, 67

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

382 I N D E X

Belligerent parents, 173 Bennis, W., 15 Blanchard, K., 48, 193 Blended learning, 152–153 Block rotating schedule, 248 Block schedules. See also Mosaic schedules

alternate-day, 254–255 explanation of, 254 4/4 semester plan, 255–256 variations in, 256

Blogs, 307–308 Bloom, B. S., 148, 152 Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Objectives, 121–122 Board of education, local, 343, 344 Books, controversial, 331–333 Brainstorming, 79 Briggs, I., 40 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), 344–345 Budgeting

explanation of, 271 as function of principalship, 270 incremental, 273–275 planning, programming, budgeting system technique for, 275–279 zero-based, 275

Budget spreedsheet, 319 Building an Ethical School (Starratt), 42 Building Leadership Capacity in Schools (Lambert), 26 Building management, 270, 273. See also School buildings Buildings. See School buildings Building utilization calendar, 314 Bulletins, 348–349 Bullying, 98–99 Burns, J., 9, 10 Business partnerships, 352

C Cafeteria-style mosaic schedules, 257. See also Mosaic schedules Calendars, 312–315 Canady, R. L., 256 Capacity building, 185 Capital outlay, 279 Career

individual view of, 182, 183 institutional view of, 182–184

The Carnegie Report (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching), 8

Casella, R., 334 Case studies, 361–381 Cavarretta, J., 241 Cell phone policy, 310 Cell phones, 309–310 Center for Public Education, 194–195 Central warehousing, 288 Character Counts, 91 Civil Rights Act of 1964, 175, 208 Classes, size of, 138–139 Classified personnel

gaining support of, 292–294 selection and retention of, 294

Classroom observation, 192

Clinical supervision. See also Formative evaluation approaches to, 193, 194 explanation of, 192 situational approach to, 193 staff development and, 189 steps in, 192–193

Clinic records, 314 CMS. See Course management system (CMS) Coalition of Essential Schools, 68–69 Cogen, M., 192 Cohort model, 25–26 Collaboration, 31, 189 Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

adoption of, 73 curriculum and, 109, 119 explanation of, 109 function of, 132, 137 school improvement and, 57

Common Sense Media, 99 Communication

of data, 58 media and, 347–348 one-way marketing techniques for, 345–350 of safety protocol, 289 within school community, 335–336 technology and, 301–309

Communication methods administrator education blogs and, 307–308 business and community partnerships and, 352 community advisory councils as, 350–351 community surveys and, 354 digital citizenship and, 303–305 electronic newsletters, 309 email and, 305 focus groups and, 351 instant messaging and, 306 parent-teacher conferences and, 353 parent-teacher organizations and, 353–354 Pinterest and, 308 principal-organized interaction sessions and, 352–353 schools websites and, 301–302 social and professional networks and, 307 social media and, 303–305, 308 telephone and web-based school surveys and, 307 telephone message delivery systems and, 305–306 Twitter and, 308 videocasts and, 308–309 working with key communicators and, 352

Communities. See also School community controversial issues in, 330–335 data on, 59 foundations for, 26–27 groups within, 337–338 influences and expectations of, 34 informal power in, 336–342 opening new schools and closing existing schools in, 333 sacred, 329–330

Community advisory councils, 350–351 Community agencies, 342 Community involvement course, 117

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

I N D E X 383

Community parent profile, 316 Community partnerships, 352 Community service for credit, 117 Community surveys, 354 Computer network security, 320–321 Computers. See Internet; Software; Technology;

Technology applications Conflict chart, 264–265 Conflict matrix, 264–266 Confluent education, 114 Consciousness phases, 14–15 Constitution, U.S., 343, 345 Constructivism, 187 Content-referenced tests. See Criterion-referenced tests Cook, W. W., 142 Cooperative learning, 146 Cordeiro, P., 32 Council of Chief State School Officers, 109 Counseling programs

advisor-advisee system and, 100–101, 104 features of good, 102–103 group, 101 individual, 101, 102 mentoring and, 103 overview of, 100 parent conferences and, 102

Course management system (CMS), 317–318 Creative leadership, 15 Creativity, 45–46 Criterion-referenced tests, 137–138 Critical pedagogy, 28 Croft, D. B., 94 Cultural forces, of leadership, 30 Culture

school as, 91–92 technology and school, 299–301

Current expenses, 279 Curricular alignment, 122–123 Curriculum

academic, 110–112 administration of, 109–110 analysis of, 120–121 balance in, 124 Common Core State Standards and, 109, 119 continuity of, 124 controversial, 333 delivery of, 122–123 design of, 121–122 explanation of, 128 flexibility of, 123–124 humanistic perspective, 112–114 interdisciplinary, 120–121 recent trends in, 108–109 role of principal in, 110–113, 115, 119–120 role of teacher in, 111–113, 115 social reconstructionism, 114–119 standards based, 108–110 technological, 110–111 theory of, 109–110

Curriculum committees, 120–121

Custodial schedules, 290–293 Cyberbullying, 99

D Data

analysis of, 58 communication of, 58 community, 59 demographic, 59 family and student access to, 311, 312 mining, 58 organizational climate, 62 perceptual, 61–62 school health, 62 school processes, 60–61 staff, 59 student, 59 student outcome, 59–60 surveys for, 62–64 use of, 58

Data-driven decision making, 58, 138 Data warehousing, 58 Debt service, 279 Decelerating teachers, 187 Decision acceptance, 47 Decision making. See also Problem solving

case study in, 43–44 creative problem-solving model for, 45–46 data-driven, 58, 138 elements of, 39 ethical issues related to, 41–42 group, 40 overview of, 38 perspective of, 42–44 rational, 51, 52 settings for, 44–45 stakeholders and, 40–41 synergy in, 40–41 techniques for unstructured, 46

Decision processing classic models of, 46–47 implications of models for, 50 Maier model of, 47–48 Vroom-Jago model of, 48–50

Decision quality, 47 Decision tree, 50 Demanding parents, 173 Demographic data, 59, 317 De Moulin, D., 186 Denying parents, 172 Departing student analysis, 316 Departmental staffing, 233–234 Department heads, 234 Department of Education, U.S.

No Child Left Behind and, 132 students with special needs and, 95 What Works Clearinghouse in

Education, 91 Developmental teachers, 186 Dewey, John, 128

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

384 I N D E X

Differentiated instruction explanation of, 149–150 instructional tools for, 151–152

Digital citizenship, 99, 303–305 Disabilities. See Special education services; Students with

special needs Discipline

school environment and, 96 for students with disabilities, 169–171

Discrepancy analysis, job application, 209–210 Discrimination, employment, 208–209, 217–218 Disengagement stage (teacher), 186 Dismissal. See Involuntary termination; Termination Diversity, as strength, 7 Documentation, of current school practices, 75 Document management system software, 320 Double-loop learning, 11–12 Due process

for new employees, 214 procedural, 216–217 requirements of, 215 substantive, 215–216

DuFour, R., 31, 247 Dweck, C. S., 146

E Education

federal influences on, 344–345 results-driven, 187

Educational Leadership Policy Standards: ISLLC 2014, 1, 87, 201, 325, 358

Educational materials controversial, 331–333 dealing with objections to, 341

Education for All Handicapped Children Act, 344 Effective schools, 68, 74. See also Schools Effective Schools Movement, 17 Eisner, E., 108 Electronic newsletters, 309 Electronic response forms, 319 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA),

131, 175 Elementary schools

ability grouping in, 139–141 looping in, 228 multiage grouping in, 229, 230 outline of typical accounts for, 281 sample vision and mission statement for, 71–72 scheduling in, 250–251 special education, Title I, and ELL staff in, 227–229 staff assignments for, 225–226 teacher specialists in, 226–227

ELLs. See English language learners (ELLs) E-mail, 305 Emergency plans, for schools, 288–289 Emergency preparedness training, 289 Emotional intelligence (EI)

curriculum and, 113 explanation of, 16 leadership style and, 16–17

Employment discrimination federal regulations to prevent, 208–209 termination and, 217–218

Employment interviews. See Job interviews Empowerment

elements of, 224 explanation of, 23, 28 teacher, 29–30, 182, 185 theories to support, 28–29

English language learners (ELLs) identification of, 175 overview of, 174–175 scheduling for, 175 service delivery models for, 175 staffing and distribution of, 227, 228

Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1964, 175 Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, 208–209 Equal rights, employee termination and, 217–218 Equipment management. See Supply and equipment management ESEA. See Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Essential schools, framework for, 68–69 Ethical issues

in decision making, 41–42 in special education services, 159–160

Ethic of care explanation of, 42, 44 special education services and, 159–160

Ethic of critique, 44 Ethic of justice, special education services and, 159 Evaluation. See Staff evaluation Evaluation methods, 147–148 Evaluative feedback, 147 Evidence, employee termination and, 217 Exceptional student report, 316 Excessive absence list, 316 Excessive tardy report, 316 Experimentation and activism stage (teacher), 185

F Facebook, 303, 308 Faculty surveys, 75 Fair hearing, 216–217 Fair warning, 216 Family access report, 314, 315 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA),

160–161, 314 Federal regulations

education and, 344–345 to prevent employment discrimination, 208–209

Feedback, 147, 183 File management, 314 Financial accounting systems software, 318 Financial resources and expenditures

activity fund and, 272, 284–285 audits and, 285 regular review of, 284 at school site, 279–284

Fiscal accounting, 270. See also Accounting Five-year plan (PPBS), 276–277

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

I N D E X 385

Flexibility, in scheduling, 245–246 Flipped learning, 153 Focus groups, 351 Force field analysis

example of, 78 explanation of, 76–77

Formative evaluation. See also Clinical supervision of staff, 191–192 strategies for, 148

Formative feedback, 147 Foster, W., 3, 10–12 4/4 semester plan, 255–256 Frankfurter, F., 158 Freedom to Learn (Rogers), 113, 114 Fullan, M., 5, 6, 19, 54, 56, 57 Full Range Leadership Model, 18 Functional behavior assessment (FBA), 171 Funds

activity, 272, 284–285 sources of, 271–272

G Gain scores

explanation of, 134 in value-added assessment, 136–137

Gangs, 98 Gantt charting, 81–82 Gardner, H., 113 Gemeinschaft, 329, 330 George, B., 15 Gesellschaft, 329, 330 Getzels, J. W., 4 Gifts Differing (Myers & Briggs), 40 Giroux, H., 115 Glass, G. V., 138 Glasser, W., 114 Glatthorn, A. A., 193 Global perspective, as phase of consciousness, 14–15 Goal action plans, 79 Goals 2000, 109 Goal setting

in high-performance organizations, 32–33 student, 101, 102

Goal statements, 66–67 Goldhammer, R., 192 Goleman, D., 16, 17, 29, 113 Goodlad, J. A., 124 Group counseling, 101 Grouping strategies

ability, 139–142 acheivement, 251–252 failure prevention and, 143–144 function of, 138 group composition and, 139–141 group flexibility and, 141 group size and, 138–139 guidelines for, 141–142 for high school, 142, 254 multiage, 229, 230 retention and, 142–143

Groups. See also Learning communities cohort model, 24–26 community, 337–338 decision making in, 40 individual growth in, 26 interaction in, 25 interdependence of, 26 pressure, 338–342 problem solving in, 51–54 purpose of, 25–26 reciprocity in, 24 schools as, 23–24 sociological and psychological nature of, 23–32

Guba, E. G., 4 Guidance counselors, 100. See also Counseling programs Guyton, J., 186

H Hall, B., 43 Hall, G., 56 Hallinger, P., 17, 18 Halpin, A. W., 94 Hardware security, 320 Hartman, W. T., 271 Helicopter parents, 335 Herrmann, N., 39 Hersey, P., 48 High-performance organizations

characteristics of, 32 goal setting in, 32–33 instructional leadership in, 33–35

High schools/secondary schools ability grouping in, 142 block schedules for, 254–256 course guides for, 260–261 departmental staffing in, 233–234 dropout prevention in, 143–144 learning community planning in, 237–239 learning community staffing in, 235 mosaic schedules for, 257–267 outline of typical accounts for, 280 sample vision and mission statement for, 70–71 scheduling for, 252–267 school-within-a-school in, 235–236 specialized thematic academies in, 235–236 staffing patterns in, 232–236

Hodgkinson, C., 6, 39 Homogeneous achievement grouping, 251 Honig v. Doe, 170 Hord, S., 56 How Children Learn (National Research Council), 144 Huberman, M., 184 Hughes, L. W., 244, 361n Human forces, of leadership, 30 Humanistic curriculum perspective

approaches to, 113–114 criticism of, 114 explanation of, 110 purpose of, 112–113 role of principal in, 113

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

386 I N D E X

role of student in, 113 role of teacher in, 113

Human resources development for classified personnel, 292–294 clinical supervision and, 192–194 evaluation cycle and, 195–196 explanation of, 181 individual and group needs and, 184–187 integrating individual and organization in, 181–184 mentoring and, 196–197 models of teacher evaluation influenced by state mandates

and, 194–195 positive reinforcement and, 197–198 professional development and, 187–190 staff evaluation and, 190–192 staff evaluation cycle and, 195–196

Human services agencies, 176–177 Hybrid learning, 152–153

I IEPs. See Individual Educational Plans (IEPs) IEP teams. See Individual Educational Plan (IEP) teams In a Different Voice (Gilligan), 42 Incremental budgeting, 273–275 Independent learning, 152 Indiana Goal Action Plan (GAP), 79 Indiana Principal’s Leadership Academy, 79 Individual counseling, 101, 102 Individual development plans (IDPs), 196 Individual Educational Plan (IEP) teams, 165–166 Individual Educational Plans (IEPs), 95, 162 Individual growth, in groups, 26 Individuality

considerations related to, 184 as phase of consciousness, 14

Individual student calendars, 314 Individuals with Disabilities Act (1977), 95 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),

95, 162–164, 167 Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) (2004),

162–164, 171 Informal power

explanation of, 336 in school community, 336–342

Informational learning, 27 Information dissemination, 350 Information technology (IT) department, 321 Inquiry model of staff development, 189–190 Instant messaging, 306 Institutional dimension of social systems theory, 4, 5 Instruction

differentiated, 149–152 learning and, 128–129

Instructional leadership forces for, 30 function of, 17 learning communities and, 30–31 model for, 33–35 transformational leadership vs., 17–19

Interaction in groups, 25 staff organization to promote, 224

Interdependence, in learning communities, 26 Interdisciplinary curriculum, 120–121. See also Curriculum Interdisciplinary teams

function of, 95 in high school learning communities, 235

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), 298–299 Internet. See also Technology applications

multichannel wireless, 321 photos of children on, 303, 304 sharing school information on, 349

Interpersonal intelligence, academic achievement and, 29 Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC), 8 Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) standards, 138,

201, xviii–xix Interviews

information-gathering, 75 job, 208–212, 310–311

Inventory control, 286–287 Involuntary termination

due process and, 215 efforts to help teacher and, 218 equal rights under Constitution and, 217–218 explanation of, 214–215 preparation for, 215 procedural due process and, 216–217 procedures for, 219 reduction in force as, 218 substantive due process and, 215–216

iPads, 309–310 ISLLC. See Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC)

standards ISTE. See International Society for Technology

in Education (ISTE)

J Jago, A. G., 48, 49. See also Vroom-Jago decision

processing model Job interviews

agenda for, 211–212 function of, 310–311 unlawful questions for, 208–209

Justice, ethic of, 42, 159 Juvenile court, 177

K Key communicators, 352 Khan Academy, 153 Klein, M. F., 111 Kohlberg, L., 42 Kouzes, J., 18 Krathwohl, D. R., 148

L Laboratory for existing course, 117 Lambert, L., 26 Law enforcement agencies, 177–178

Humanistic curriculum perspective (continued )

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

I N D E X 387

Leadership. See also Principals challenges of, 19–20 consciousness phases and, 14–15 context for, 5–9 creative, 15 credibility and, 13 decision making and, 41, 42 development of, 15 ethical responsibilities of, 11, 41, 42 forces of, 30 instructional, 17–19, 30–31 (See also Instructional

leadership) for learning, 26 management and, 12, 19 perspectives on, 9 as philosophy in action, 13 role of, 1 transactional, 9–11 transformational, 9–11, 18–19, 31 value-added approach and, 29–30 values and, 13–14 vision and, 15–16

Leadership styles emotional intelligence and, 16–17 of principals in good schools, 90

Learning action, 116–118 cooperative, 146 expectations for, 72–74 flipped, 153 hybrid or blended, 152–153 independent, 152 informational, 27 instruction and, 128–129 mastery, 152 problem-based, 151–152 single-loop and double-loop, 11–12 team, 27 transfer of, 189 transformational, 27–28

Learning communities. See also Groups challenging mental models in, 27 characteristics of, 27, 95 development and enhancement of, 224 empowerment and, 28–29 foundations for, 26–27, 75 in high schools/secondary schools, 237–239 instructional leadership in, 30–31 middle school, 230–231 organizing to develop, 224–225 parent involvement in, 240–241 personal mastery in, 27 planning tasks for, 237–238 problem solving in, 53 professional, 31–32 scheduling and, 249–250 schools as, 145, 239–241 shared vision in, 27 staffing in, 208, 235 systems thinking in, 27

teacher empowerment in, 29–30 team learning in, 27 team meeting schedules for, 238–239 transformational learning in, 27–28

Learning environments assessment-centered, 144–145 counseling program and, 100–104 factors influencing behavior and, 96–97 good rules and, 93–94 learning communities and, 95 organizational climate and, 94–95 overview, 89, 90 positive student behavior program and, 92 positive student control and, 90, 91 premises of, 93 role of principal in student personnel services and, 105 school as culture and, 91–92 student services and, 104 for students with special needs, 95–96 teaching quality and, 93 violence and disorder and, 97–99

Learning organization model, 203, 204 Least restrictive environment (LRE), 163, 167, 168 Leiberman, A., 31–32 Lesson analysis, in clinical supervision, 192 Lessons implementation, 145–146 Lewin, K., 76 Lezotte, L., 17 The Light in Their Eyes: Creating Multicultural Learning Communities

(Nieto), 118 Local board of education, 343, 344 Looping, 228 LRE. See Least restrictive environment (LRE)

M Maier, N. R. F., 47, 49 Maier decision-processing model, 47–48 Maintenance form, 287 Maintenance schedules, 290–293 Management, leadership and, 12, 19 Manifestation, 171 Marketing to school community

controversial issues and, 330–335 formal forces and, 342–345 informal forces and, 336–342 messaging methods and, 345–350 messaging results and, 350–354 nature of, 328 school community composition and, 328 to secular society, 329–330

Marshall, R., 32 Maslow, A., 28, 29, 113 Mastery learning, 152 Matrix management, 240 Maturity, levels of teacher, 186–187 McGreal, Tom, 191 McLaughlin, M., 182–184 McNeil, J., 110, 119 Measured curriculum. See Technological

curriculum

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

388 I N D E X

Media dealing with, 346–347 district policies and, 347 keeping school news file for, 347–348

Meetings learning community planning, 237–239 thinking, 114

Mentoring, 103, 196 Merit, as aspect of evaluation, 190–191 Mezirow, J., 27 Middle schools

ability grouping in, 139–141 advisor programs in, 231 learning communities in, 230–231 sample vision and mission statement for, 71–72 scheduling in, 251–253 staffing patterns in, 230, 232

Miller, L., 31–32 Mission. See Vision/mission Monthly report forms, 282, 286 Morgan, G., 6 Mosaic schedules. See also Block schedules

based on student requests, 257–258 cafeteria-style, 257 method to develop, 258–267

Motivation origins of, 183 research on student, 146–147

Multiage grouping, 229, 230 Multicultural education, 118 Multiyear staffing assignment, 228–229 Myers, P., 40 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), team construction and, 39

N National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), 19 National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), 19

on action learning programs, 117–118 National Crime Information Center (NCIC), 320 National Educational Technology Standards (NETS), 298–300 National Governors Association Center for Best Practice, 109 National High School Center, 144 National Policy Board, 8 National Research Council, 144 National Study of School Evaluation (NSSE), 58 A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education),

8, 108 NCE. See Normal curve equivalent (NCE) NCLB. See No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Needs assessment, 62–64 Needs theory, 29 Negotiation, with pressure groups, 339–340 Neighborhood influence systems, 337 NETS. See National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) New enrollee analysis, 316 Newmann, F., 181 Newsletters

conveying messages in, 348–349 electronic, 309

Nieto, S., 6, 28, 118 No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

accountability and, 131–132, 334 provisions of, 131, 212, 344 scheduling issues and, 251 school improvement and, 3 standards and, 109 waivers, 194

Nominal group techniques, 79 Nonprobability sampling technique, 351 Nonresponsive parents, 172 Normal curve equivalent (NCE), 133–134 Norm-referenced tests

function of, 132–133 gain scores and, 134 normal curve equivalent and, 133–134 scaled scores and, 134 stanine score and, 133 teacher performance scores linked to scores on, 195 value-added assessments and, 134–137

Norris, C., 15, 23

O Oakes, J., 115 Observation, staff development and, 189 Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), 344 Office software, 301 One-year plan (PPBS), 277, 278 Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire (OCDQ), 62 Organizational Health Inventory (OHI), 62 Organizations

climate in and health of, 62, 94–95 high-performance, 32–35 integration between individuals and, 181–184 tightly coupled vs. loosely coupled, 8–9

Oxley, D., 95

P Parallel scheduling, 249–250 Parent conferences, 102 Parents

of children with special needs, 171–173 in decision process, 40 helicopter, 335 involvement in learning communities, 240–241 report cards as communication form to, 349 safety communication protocol for, 289 student success and involvement of, 311

Parent-teacher conferences, 353 Parent-teacher organizations (PTOs), 102, 353–354 PARRC, 137 Peer coaching, 189 Perceptual data

measurement of, 61–62 on organizational climate and health, 62 surveys to obtain, 62–64

Personal calendar, 312 Personality, 4 Personal mastery, 27 Personnel administration, 181. See also Human resources development

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

I N D E X 389

Personnel calendar, 314 Pinterest, 308 PL 94–142, 344 A Place Called School (Goodlad), 124 Planning, programming, budgeting system (PPBS)

explanation of, 275 five-year plan for, 276–277 implementation of, 277–279 one-year plan for, 277, 278 steps in, 275–276

Plato, 42 Playground maintenance, 290, 292 Podcasts, 308–309 Positive reinforcement, 197–198 Posner, B., 18 Postconference analysis, 193 Postobservation conference, 193 Power

to increase levels of capacity, 183–184 in informal community, 336–342

PPBS. See Planning, programming, budgeting system (PPBS) Preobservation conference, in clinical supervision, 192 Pressure groups

anticipating hot-button issues on, 340 evaluating legitimacy of, 340 nature of, 338 negotiating with, 339–340 policies when dealing with, 341 review boards and, 341–342 working with community agencies and, 342

Principals. See also Leadership beliefs of, 33–34 challenges for, 19–20 characteristics of good, 90 curriculum role of, 110–113, 115, 119–120 disciplinary practices and, 96 ethical decision making by, 41–42 function of, 3–4 goal-setting role of, 32–33 human resources and organizational development role of, 197 interactions sessions with, 352–353 overview of, 19 school improvement role of, 57 special education services role of, 160, 173 staff organization and assignments role of, 223 values of, 13, 15, 33–34

Print /electronic media, 346 Probationary status, employee, 212 Problem-based learning (PBL), 151–152 Problem-based learning software, 151 Problem solving. See also Decision making

dimensions of, 51 individual differences in, 40 at operational level, 53–54 process for creative, 45–46 in work groups, 51–54

Problem-solving work group (PSWG), 53. See also Decision making; Problem solving

Procedural due process, 216–217 Professional competence, 183

Professional learning communities (PLCs). See also Learning communities development and enhancement of, 224 explanation of, 30–31 problem solving in, 53 schools as, 145, 239–241 staffing in, 208

Professional networks, 307 Proficiency test report, 316 Programming an objective. See Action plans Provisional teachers, 186 Public agencies

function of, 175–176 law enforcement, 177–178 public health, 178 public welfare or human services, 176–177 social welfare, 178

Public health departments, 178 Public welfare agencies, 176–177 Purchase requisition flowchart, 283 Purpose, of groups, 25–26

Q Quality circles, 190 Quizzes, 146

R Race to the Top, 194, 195 Rath, L., 28 Rawls, J., 42 “Read to Children” program, 96 Reality therapy, 114 Reauthorization of Americans with Disabilities Act, 161 Reciprocity, groups and, 24 Records. See Student records Records progress tracker, 320 Recruitment. See also Staffing

discrimination prevention and, 208–209 function of, 203 position and person descriptions as aspect of, 204–207

Reduction in force (RIF), 218 Reference checks, in staff selection process, 210 Rehabilitation Act (1973), 95 Reinforcement, positive, 197–198 Religious beliefs, 331 Report cards

as communication method, 349 criteria for, 148–149 school information systems and, 317

Report generator, 314, 316 Research

on cooperative learning, 146 on differentiated instruction, 149–150 on evaluation methods, 147–148 on evaluative feedback, 147 on flipped learning, 153 on how children learn, 144–145 on hybrid or blended learning, 152–153 on lesson implementation, 145–146 on problem-based learning, 151–152

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

390 I N D E X

on report cards, 148–149 on response to intervention, 150 on student motivation, 146–147 on teacher planning skills, 145 on time on task, 149

Response to intervention (RTI), 150, 164 Results-driven education, 187 Retention, 142–143 Rettig, M. D., 256 Review boards, 341–342 Reviews, lesson, 146 Rogers, C., 113 Role expectations, 4 Roles, 4 Room assignment sheet, 266 Rules, development of reasonable, 93–94

S Sacred community, 329 Sacred society, 329–330 Safe School Study (National Institute of Education), 334 Safety, 288–289. See also Security Salovey, P., 113 Sanders, Bill, 135 Sarason, S., 7 Scaled scores, 134 Scheduling

to accommodate learning communities, 249–250 block, 254–256 decision level and, 246 design aspects of, 247–249 for elementary schools, 250–251 explanation of, 244–245 flexibility in, 245–246 group, 254 high school/secondary schools, 252–267 for middle schools, 251–253 mosaic, 257–267 parallel, 249–250 school information systems and, 316–317 for year-round schools, 267–268

Scheduling software, 258–259 Schein, E., 181 School buildings

care of, 289–290 evaluating appearance of, 292 maintenance and custodial schedules for, 290–292 safety and security of, 288–289, 321–322

School climate data, 62 School community. See also Communities

communication within, 335–336 complexity of, 335–336 composition of, 328 controversial issues in, 330–335 formal forces in, 342–345 getting message out in, 345–350 informal forces in, 336–342 marketing techniques for, 345 members of, 327–328

message results in, 350–354 nature of, 328 neighborhood influence systems in, 337 religious beliefs and, 331 secular society and, 329–330 view of specific books and educational materials in, 331–332 violence in, 333–334

School computer network security, 320–321 School Excellence Inventory, 64, 75 School forms software, 318–320 School health data, 62 School improvement

analysis of effectiveness for, 74–76 curriculum design and, 121–122 date-driven decision making for, 58–65 effects of, 3 elements of, 56–57 role of principal in, 57 stakeholders and, 57, 75, 76 student learning expectations and, 72–74 vision and mission for, 65–72

School Improvement Committee, 76 School improvement plan

activities for, 81 elements of, 76 evaluation of, 83 explanation of, 5 generation of, 79 planning document for, 80 problem analysis for, 76–78 project calendar for, 81–83 target dates for, 81

School information system (SIS). See also Technology applications calendars and, 312–315 clinic records and, 314 e-mail addresses for, 305 file management and, 314 overview of, 311 report cards and, 317 report generators and, 314, 316 scheduling and, 316–317 student records and, 317

School management system software, 294 School master calendar, 312, 313 School processes, data on, 60–61 School resource officers (SROs), 177, 289 Schools. See also Elementary schools; High schools/secondary schools;

Middle schools analysis of effectiveness of, 74–76 as brains, 7 bringing computing devices into, 309–310 community influences on, 34 community volunteer programs in, 96–97 context for leadership in, 5–12 (See also Leadership) culture of, 299–301 effective, 68, 74 expectations for, 8 features of good, 90 federal influences on, 344–345 funding sources for, 271–272

Research (continued )

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

I N D E X 391

as group, 23–24 high-performance, 32 institutional influences of, 34–35 as learning communities, 145, 239–241 local authority for, 343–344 as machines, 6 as organisms, 6–7 as safe haven, 99 safety and security issues affecting, 288–289 social reform and, 344–345 as tightly or loosely coupled organizations, 8–9 violence in, 333–334 vision and mission for, 65–72 year-round, 267–268

School segregation, 345 School surveys, 306–307 School websites, 301–302 School-within-a-school high school, 235–236 Scientific Management Era, 6 Screening, in staff selection process, 209 Scriven, M., 190 Secondary schools. See High schools/secondary schools Section 504, 161–162, 169 Secular society, 329–330 Security

building, 288–289, 321–322 hardware, 320 multichannel wireless Internet, 321 school computer network, 320–321

Segregation, school, 345 Selection process. See Staff selection process Self-awareness, 6, 114 Self-discipline, 114 Self-fulfilling prophecy, 140 Self-management, 16 Senge, P., 15, 224 Separate but equal, 345 Serenity/relational distance and conservatism stage (teacher), 185 Sergiovanni, T., 10, 29, 30, 32, 224 Servage, L., 31 Service learning, 116 Shared vision. See also Vision

leadership and, 15–16 of student expectations, 73–74

Sheniger, Eric, 308 Single-loop learning, 11–12 SIS. See School information system (SIS) Site evaluation, 292 Situational supervision, 193–194 Smart phones, 309–310 Smith, M. L., 138 Smith, P. S., 97 Social awareness, 16 Social interaction, 14 Social media

as communication medium, 303, 308 digital citizenship and, 303–305

Social networks, 307 Social reconstructionism

action learning and, 116–118

approaches to, 115–116 criticism of, 119 explanation of, 110 multicultural education and, 118 purpose of, 114–115 role of principal in, 115 role of teacher in, 115

Social skills, 16 Social systems theory, 4–5 Social welfare agencies, 178 Software. See also Technology; Technology applications

course management system, 318 document management system, 320 financial accounting systems, 318 office, 301 problem-based learning, 151 scheduling, 258–259 school forms, 318–320 school management system, 294 tracking potential dropouts, 144 video editing, 309

Sparks, D., 188n Special education services. See also Students with special needs

classroom teacher responsibilities and, 173–174 discipline issues and, 169–171 English language learners and, 174–175 ethical issues related to, 159–160 IEPs and, 165–169, 171 implementation of, 164–168 legislation addressing, 160–171 overview of, 158–159 parents and, 171–173 public agencies and, 175–178 records maintenance in, 169 rights of parents and, 169 role of principal in, 160, 173 staffing and, 227–229

Stabilization stage (teacher), 185 Staff assignments

looping, 228 multiage grouping, 229, 230 multiyear, 228–229 variations in elementary school, 225–226

Staff/community/student consensus model, 69, 70 Staff data, 59 Staff development

assessment and, 189 constructivism and, 187 development/improvement process involvement

and, 189 function of, 187 individually guided, 188 inquiry model of, 189–190 models of, 188–190 observation and, 189 paradigm shift in, 187, 188 results-driven education and, 187 systems thinking and, 187 teacher differences and opportunities for, 190 training model of, 189

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

04 -6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

392 I N D E X

Staff evaluation as cyclical process, 195 formative, 148, 191–192 merit in, 190–191 purposes of, 193 state mandates and, 194–195 summative, 191

Staffing. See also Recruitment determining needs for, 204 discrimination prevention and, 208–209 involuntary termination and, 214–219 new teacher orientation and development and, 212–214 person and position descriptions and, 204–208 probationary status and, 212 tenure and, 214 voluntary termination and, 220

Staffing patterns for elementary schools, 225–230 for middle schools, 230–232 for secondary schools/high schools, 232–236

Staff selection process. See also Recruitment; Staff selection process application screening in, 209 discrepancy analysis in, 209–210 explanation of, 203 job interviews and, 210–212 placement of transfers and, 208 reference checks in, 210

Stakeholders, school improvement and, 57, 75, 76 Standardized achievement tests. See Norm-referenced tests Standards Based Curriculum, 149, 194 Stanine scores, 133 Starratt, R., 41, 42 State mandates, teacher evaluation models and, 194–195 Status offenses, 177 S-team, 165 Sternberg, R. J., 113 Storage control, 286–287 Student achievement

ability and, 129–131 acknowledgment of, 96 effects of teaching on, 195 failure prevention and, 143–144 grouping and, 138–142 individual differences and, 129–131 instruction and learning and, 128–129 interpersonal intelligence and, 29 overview of, 128 range of, 131 research on teaching and, 144–153 (See also Research) school accountability and, 131–138 student retention and, 142–143

Student calendars, 314 Student data, 59 Student disciplinary report, 316 Student growth percentiles (SGPs), 195 Student outcome data, 59–60 Student outcomes committee, 73 Student records

closed, 178 school information systems and, 317

special education, 169 Students

behavior of, 92, 93 course requests by, 260, 262–263 as English language learners, 174–175 evaluation of, 147–148 expectations for, 72–74 individual differences among, 129–131 mentoring programs for, 103 motivation of, 146–147

Student services, 104 Students with special needs, 95–96. See also Special education services Subgroups, 24 Substantive due process, 215–216 Summative evaluation, of staff, 191 Supply and equipment management

central warehousing and, 288 function of, 285–286 storage and inventory control and, 286–287

Supportive parents, 172 Supreme Court, U.S., 344–345 Surowiecki, J., 38 Surveys

administration of, 65 development of, 62 faculty, 75 needs assessment, 62–64

Survival, as phase of consciousness, 14 Survival and discovery stage (teacher), 185 Symbolic forces, of leadership, 30 Synergy, 40 Systems thinking

in learning communities, 27 staff development and, 187

T Tanner, L. N., 32–33 Teacher assignment worksheet, 263 Teachers

in academic curriculum, 112 as adult learners, 184 decelerating, 187 developmental, 186 disengagement stage for, 186 empowerment of, 29–30, 182, 185, 223–224 experience-based developmental stages for, 184–186 experimentation and activism stage for, 185 feedback to, 183 in humanistic perspective curriculum, 113 in interdisciplinary teams, 95 involuntary termination of, 214–219 lesson implementation by, 145–146 maturity levels of, 186–187 orientation and development of new, 212–214 planning skills of, 145 power given to, 183–184 provisional, 186 recognition of uniqueness of, 184 role in curriculum, 111–113, 115 serenity/relational distance and conservatism stage for, 185

IS B

N 1-323-23704-6

L A W S O N , A P R I L 3 1 3 8 T S

I N D E X 393

in social reconstructionism, 115 special education services and, 173–174 stabilization stage for, 185 survival and discovery stage for, 185 in technological curriculum, 111 tenure of, 214 time use by, 149 transitional, 186–187 voluntary termination of, 220

Teacher specialists elementary school, 226–227 special education, 227–228

Team building, 189 Team learning, 27 Team scheduled block (TSB), 247 Technical forces, of leadership, 30 Technological curriculum, 110–111 Technology. See also Software

communication with, 301–309 development of plans for, 299 integration of, 75 National Educational Technology Standards and, 298–299 school culture and use of, 299–301

Technology applications. See also Software administrator education blogs and, 307–308 digital citizenship and, 303–305 email and, 305 instant messaging and, 306 Pinterest and, 308 schools websites and, 301–302 social and professional networks and, 307 social media and, 303–305, 308 telephone and web-based school surveys and, 307 telephone message delivery systems and, 305–306 Twitter and, 308 videocasts and, 308–309

TED-Ed, 153 Telephone message delivery system, 305–306 Telephone surveys, 306–307 Tennessee, value-added assessment system in, 135 Tenth Amendment, 343 Tenure, 214 Termination

involuntary, 214–219 voluntary, 220

Tests/testing. See also Accountability criterion-referenced, 137–138 high-stakes, 334–335 norm-referenced, 132–137 (See also Norm-referenced tests)

Texting, 306 Thematic high school academies, 235–236 Thinking meetings, 114 Thinking theory, empowerment and, 29 Time on task, 149 Title I classrooms, 227–228 Title III English Language Instruction, 175 Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments, 96 Title VI, Civil Rights Act of 1965, 175 Total quality management (TQM), 190 Training model of staff development, 189

Tranfers, placement of, 208 Transactional leadership, 9–10 Transfer of learning, 189 Transformational leadership

ethical responsibilities of, 11 instructional leadership vs., 18–19 organizational transformation and, 31 views regarding, 9–11

Transformational learning, 27–28 Transitional teachers, 186–187 Trump, J. L., 223 Twitter, 308

U Ubben, G. C., 60, 203, 244 Uninterrupted Scholars Act, 160 Unsolvable conflict, 264 Urbanization, 329 U.S. Constitution, 343, 345

V Value-added assessments

benefits and drawbacks of, 136–137 explanation of, 134–135

Value-added models (VAMs), 195 Values

leadership and, 13–14 of principals, 13, 14, 33–34

Values theory, empowerment and, 29 Verser, G. C., 47, 49 Videocasts, 308–309 Video editing software, 309 Violence

bullying and, 98–99 gangs and, 98 policies addressing, 97 schools and, 97, 99

Vision development of, 65, 66 leadership and, 15 shared, 15–16, 73–74

Vision/mission belief statements and, 66 development process for, 69–72 goal statements and, 66–67 overview of, 65–66 staff/community consensus, 69–70 statement development for, 67–69

Volunteer bureau, 116–117 Vroom, V. H., 48, 49 Vroom-Jago decision processing model

decision tree and, 50 development-driven considerations and, 50 explanation of, 48–49 time-driven considerations and, 49

W Warehousing, 288 Web-based surveys, 306–307

IS B

N 1

-3 23

-2 37

Save your time - order a paper!

Experience

Our mission

Latest Posts

Talk to us...